Word: mcas
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Last Tuesday, the Cambridge School Committee voted to eliminate the Massachusetts Comprehension Assessment System (MCAS) test as a mandatory requirement for high school graduation. Cambridge is now the second Massachusetts town to challenge the statewide MCAS graduation requirement, a requirement imposed by the Massachusetts Department of Education in accordance with the 1993 Education Reform Act. With this bold decision, Cambridge has taken an audacious step to protect its students from an unfair, punitive graduation requirement...
...wealth, additional time to prepare or easy access to quality tutoring—have an unfair advantage over those who lack such resources. In addition, all public school students would be required to pass it, including students with disabilities and those who have limited English proficiency. And MCAS will test specific information that is included in the state’s curriculum frameworks, but which have yet to be effectively taught many classrooms—which punishes students by testing them on information they may have never learned...
Those who voted against this decision expressed a fear that Cambridge will be penalizing its students if Massachusetts nullifies the diplomas of students who do not pass the MCAS. If the state did so, these students may not be able to enter state universities and would be at a disadvantage in the job market. This concern is a valid one, but if it happens, blame should fall squarely on the state and the Department of Education—not on Cambridge...
...MCAS has much use as an evaluative tool, providing detailed information about both individual students, teachers and schools—and over time, its results should be of great worth for improving Massachusetts schools. But using one high-standards test to determine who may graduate from high school and who may not is an inaccurate way to measure student achievement. After eliminating MCAS as a graduation requirement, Cambridge will now be able to concentrate on properly educating its students for participation in today’s world...
Opponents of the resolution said the schools need to work on improving education instead of minimizing the importance of the MCAS...