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This crisis is the result of the implementation of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS), a series of statewide standardized tests that every high school student must pass to graduate, beginning with the class of 2003. This high-stakes, high-standards test is the first in the nation to require students to reach what may be a prohibitively high level of competence for the average student. For months, educators and parents around the state have been waiting with bated breath to see what grade would constitute a passing mark on this test. That grade was revealed on Nov. 23, when...
Although these statistics may imply that the MCAS is an unreasonable measure of students' education, there are many ways that the test will be an invaluable weapon in the educational arsenal. MCAS has a sophisticated evaluative system that gives scores out not only to individual students but also to school districts, schools and specific classrooms. By analyzing these scores, educators will be able to determine which areas of the curriculum are successful and which teachers are most effective. By the same token, the tests should identify many areas for improvement and innovation...
...shock. The standardized frameworks for English and math, on which the test is based, were completed only a couple of years ago. Since they were distributed, teachers have been expected to adapt to these frameworks, and students have tried valiantly to mold their answers to the format that the MCAS encourages. However, the timetable has been too short, and it is the students who are being shortchanged...
...MCAS is mandated by the Education Reform Act of 1993, the intent of which was to encourage investment and interest in Massachusetts schools. The state has devoted a great many resources to improving the quality of education under this legislation. Standards and expectations have been raised, and much-needed attention has been focused on the schools. However, if more than a quarter of the total high school class across the state fails to receive a diploma because of one test, the outrage will cause an immense backlash against education reform, with destructive consequences. The state must encourage and enable students...
...MCAS out of business is to make sure we're doing our jobs," he says...