This op-ed appeared in Business West.
Voters across the Commonwealth will decide on Nov. 5 whether to keep the MCAS as a high-school graduation requirement or to toss it without any real replacement that will ensure a high-school diploma actually means something in Massachusetts. Springfield’s business community must stand up and take notice.
While it is never a good time to lower standards, doing so when we are facing increasing national and international pressure to maintain our state’s economic competitiveness would be misguided at best and foolish at worst. The MCAS requirement not only helps strengthen our public education system, but also helps prepare our future workforce and improves our ability to attract and retain talent from our own backyard.
As part of the Knowledge Corridor, Springfield and its surrounding area host many colleges and universities. Education-adjacent jobs drive much of the city’s employment opportunities. Additionally, Baystate Health’s corporate offices operate out of Springfield. Other healthcare facilities, including Mercy Medical Center, bolster the area’s healthcare employment market.
Still, even with the city’s reliable employment industries, the overall employment rate is dismal, with 8.7% of Springfield residents facing unemployment, a leap above the national 5.3% average.
A well-rounded education can counter that. Now more than ever, Springfield needs an educated workforce to capitalize on the robust education, financial, and healthcare jobs that have long sustained the community. Requiring a passing MCAS score ensures public schools are producing graduates with the knowledge and skills needed for success in these markets.
MCAS data helps address and combat the inequities in our school systems that stunt student growth. Without it, we cannot accurately determine which students need the most support.
Question 2 states that, instead of passing the MCAS, students would be required to complete coursework certified by a student’s district as “demonstrating mastery of the competencies contained in the state academic standards.” While this language suggests that the state standards will still apply, as we’ve learned from our teachers in our high-school statistics and research courses, if you don’t have uniformity in how you assess something like achievement, then you don’t have a single standard. Only a common assessment can assure that.
In spite of some concerns raised when the MCAS graduation requirement went into effect, graduation rates eventually went up, dropout rates went down, and student achievement increased for all groups of students, leading Massachusetts to its first-in-the-nation status. Establishing a single, statewide standard for graduation has been central to that success.
If Question 2 passes, interpretation of the standards and whether they have been met will vary from district to district, school to school, and even within schools. In fact, just look at recent research and reports of grade inflation through and since the pandemic that has been detrimental to students, leading them to believe, incorrectly, that they are ready for college or a career.
Since the business community relies on an educated workforce to grow and compete in the 21st century, we must vote no on Question 2 and support targeted investments in our school system, including access to internships and other workforce opportunities.
As it stands, the MCAS remains the best barometer for determining whether or not students are learning at grade level. It shows where we’ve helped our students and where we’ve failed them. If we are dismayed by declining or stagnant test results, we shouldn’t tear up the test just because we don’t like what it reveals.
If our schools’ curriculums meet the same standards mandated by the state, our students should be able to pass the MCAS. If they aren’t, we should use the results to improve their performance and prepare them for a successful college and career path.
Edward Lambert is executive director of the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education, a nonprofit organization of employers created to promote improvement in public education. He is also a former mayor and school committee member in Massachusetts.
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