The Boston Herald Editorial Board
The MCAS tests aren't easy. They take hours, require study, practice, and for teachers to spend classroom time focusing on preparation. They're also a flashpoint of contention between those who want to keep the tests and those who want them scrapped, culminating in Question 2 on the Nov. 5 election ballot.
The Grade 10 MCAS tests English Language Arts, Mathematics, and one of the high school Science and Technology/Engineering tests (Biology, Chemistry or Introductory Physics). Most students, according to last month's Tufts Center for State Policy Analysis report, climb this academic mountain successfully. "Nearly 90% of students pass on the first try, and 96% manage to eventually pass or otherwise prove their competency via one of the state's alternate paths," the study said. "Even for the remaining 4% who struggle to get state sign-off for graduation, there are often other complications. Most kids who don't pass the MCAS also don't meet district requirements for graduation."
The test puts students through their paces, but it also provides a yardstick for schools and resources. "Assessment is important," state Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler said on WBZ's "Keller at Large" this weekend. MCAS "gives us a window into how are students doing relative to a set of standards in terms of their skills and knowledge base, so that we could develop a coherent strategy in the state to meet their needs and understand which groups of students need more help."
Assessment is vital in making sure Massachusetts students leave high school with the educational skills necessary to succeed in college and/or the workplace. Without this yardstick, efforts to determine where resources should go to give underperforming students a leg up would be scattershot at best.
Tutwiler pointed that getting rid of the test would "eliminate the uniform expectation for graduation in Massachusetts, putting us in company with only a couple of states that have no uniform expectation for graduation."
That is not company we wish to keep.
Oregon paused its requirement last year that high schoolers show additional proficiencies in reading, writing and other skills on top of taking regular courses in those subjects. This "essential skills requirement will be suspended through the 2027-28 school year," as the Oregon_Capitol Chronicle reported. State Sen. Michael Dembrow, D-Portland noted: "Having this kind of assessment was not really to show whether or not students could read or write, but rather, could they apply what they were learning to the real world."
The high school student who can demonstrate academic proficiency today is the employee, college grad or member of the military tomorrow. As the Boston_Chamber_of Commerce pointed out: "The Commonwealth's talented and highly educated workforce is one of our strongest competitive advantages, and why businesses locate, stay, and grow here and seek out our talent."
Massachusetts owes it to our students to provide them with the best quality education. This requires a standard assessment of what they have been taught and which students are struggling in order to marshal resources to help them.
The Herald endorses a No Vote on Question 2.
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