Protect Our Kids Future: No On 2 Campaign Identifies Numerous Lies In Initial Ad Campaign To Eliminate Massachusetts’ Only Statewide Graduation Requirement
Protect Our Kids’ Future: No on Question 2, a broad coalition of teachers, parents, education advocates, elected officials, and business groups, today debunked the initial advertising by supporters of Question 2. The proponents' 30-second advertisement, narrated by a voice actor, contained five outright lies designed to mislead voters - one every six seconds.
Voters, members of the media, and advertising platforms should carefully vet the public statements and advertising pushed by Question 2’s proponents between now and Election Day. In both their initial press release and this new advertisement, proponents have shown a brazen willingness to tell boldfaced lies in pursuit of their agenda.
These false statements from their advertisement are easily fact-checked:
“Question 2 maintains our high state standards…” - FALSE. If Question 2 passes, the only remaining state graduation standard would be that students take four years of gym class. Massachusetts would have lower statewide graduation standards than states like Mississippi and Alabama. At the local level, each of the Commonwealth’s 300 school districts will have different and unequal standards for high school graduation, leading to haphazard assessments of student readiness for college and careers and even wider inequities in student achievement and opportunities.
“Question 2 … replac[es] the high-stakes MCAS graduation requirement...” - FALSE. The question drops the current statewide graduation requirement and replaces it with nothing. Teachers and parents will no longer have an objective, unbiased tool to determine which kids have mastered math, English, and science and are ready to graduate, and which kids need extra help and support. The question also permanently bans the use of any new or improved statewide or district-wide assessments as graduation requirements.
“...which only shows who’s good at taking tests, not who’s prepared to succeed after graduation…” – FALSE. Research conducted by Brown University’s Annenberg Institute found a direct correlation between scores on the 10th grade MCAS and college and career outcomes. That research also shows that 10th grade assessment scores predict success and reflect academic skills, not simply socio-economic status or school characteristics.
“...a yes on Question 2 means no more teaching to the test...” – FALSE. Teaching to the test is a myth. According to the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, statewide testing accounts for approximately 1 percent of class time each year. Even if proponents are to be believed, current state assessments cover basic English, math, and science: knowledge and skills that every student should be taught before graduating high school. If students haven’t mastered these subjects, statewide assessments ensure that they receive extra help to get caught up before graduating, so they can succeed in college or career.
“...so teachers can focus on how individual students learn, assessing grades, papers, and participation...” – FALSE. Every good teacher in Massachusetts currently focuses on students' learning, grades, papers, and participation. But as recent data has shown, grade inflation has skyrocketed in Massachusetts since the pandemic, and just getting good grades is no longer a good indicator of whether students have mastered math, English, and science. We need an objective, statewide standard to ensure every child has the skills they need to succeed.
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