The Editorial Board
Lowell Sun / Fitchburg Sentinel & Enterprise
With every teachers’ union pushing for the passage of Question 2 on the November ballot, the recent release of a study reviewing the pros and cons of that proposition sheds light on what dismantling the MCAS high-school graduation requirement would mean.
The conclusion of a new report from the Tufts Center of State Policy Analysis: Students with cognitive disabilities and English language learners would stand to benefit the most from a ballot initiative that would “greatly diminish the state’s role as a gatekeeper to high school graduation,” and lower the stakes of statewide standardized testing.
The report, one of a series analyzing the five ballot questions going before Massachusetts voters this fall, says Question 2 to eliminate the MCAS graduation requirement would shift power from the state to local school districts and classroom teachers to determine if a student can graduate.
Whether that’s a positive or negative outcome constitutes the crux of this proposition.
Currently, all Massachusetts high-school students must pass both their curriculum requirements and a standardized exam first given in 10th grade to get a high school diploma.
Historically, that’s been an achievable goal – as the report states – for 99% of the commonwealth’s secondary-school students.
And reaching that goal isn’t as cut and dried as MCAS opponents would have you believe.
Struggling students receive several opportunities to pass, with alternative assessments provided for students with different learning needs.
Still, about 700 of them — or 1% of the roughly 70,000 annual class size — who somehow otherwise completed their graduation requirements do not pass this test every year.
Most of those 700 students fall under three groups – English language learners, those with disabilities, or those who’ve struggled with school attendance due to personal issues, the Tufts report says.
These are the students who would benefit the most from the passage of Question 2.
But what about the other 99%?
We don’t know how students who’ve missed a considerable amount of class time would be any more qualified to graduate without having to pass a state standardized test, unless the bar for accomplishing that was lowered to accommodate their lack of instruction time.
“In a narrow sense, Question 2 is about a few hundred students each year — out of a statewide class of 70,000 — who lose the opportunity to graduate because they haven’t passed the 10th grade MCAS or otherwise earned a competency determination from the state,” the report says.
“At the same time, it’s also about how removing the state graduation requirements could shift power to the districts and transform accountability across high school education in Massachusetts.”
So, what is it, maintaining the rigors for the vast majority of the state’s students, or dismantling it into a host of education silos based on a school systems’ or individual schools’ list of acceptable graduation criteria?
Massachusetts remains one of only a few states in the country that requires passage of a statewide test in order to graduate.
Maybe that’s why the state ranks near or at the top of most national academic standards.
Instead of fracturing the system into countless academic measuring sticks, MCAS backers contend the state’s current method allows for individual expression that’s ultimately judged by one overall standard.
In Massachusetts, local school districts have more control over what and how they teach compared to other states.
However, every district uses the same curriculum frameworks, and teacher training and licensure derive from the same standards.
In essence, the MCAS measures how districts using different approaches stack up to each other, test supporters say.
If Question 2 passed, districts would be in charge of determining a student’s fitness to graduate, without an established state requirement.
Supporters of the ballot measure insist that with uniform state standards but not a test to teach to, schools can deliver the same educational quality while providing more individualized and authentic learning.
“With new authority over graduation standards, some districts might embrace the task of bringing teachers, parents, principals, superintendents, and other local leaders together to set meaningful course requirements, GPA standards, and other ways to prove graduation readiness. As part of this process, districts could also tailor requirements for English language learners and students with cognitive disabilities,” says a section of the report on arguments for a “Yes” vote on Question 2.
As for the arguments for a no vote, the report indicates that stark district-level inequalities among Massachusetts’ schools already exist.
“The idea that Question 2 would inspire local districts to set rich, student-focused standards for graduation begs the question: Why don’t they just do that now?” It says.
“…If Question 2 passes, it’s even possible we’d see a race to the bottom among districts. That’s because the main measure people use to judge high schools is the graduation rate. And the surest way to boost graduation rates is to ease graduation requirements.”
The report adds that ballot language implies, but is not specific, about some kind of enforcement for individual districts that loosen graduation requirements, such as using audits or reviews.
This report just reinforces our belief that the benefits of the MCAS graduation requirement – attained by 99% of those who take the test – far outweighs any of its detractors’ attempts to discard it.
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