The Salem News
By Christian M. Wade
BOSTON — School administrators are joining the ballot fight over a proposal to scrap the state’s MCAS graduation mandate, arguing that the move would undermine the state’s nation-leading educational standards.
The Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents’ executive committee has voted to oppose Question 2, which will appear on the Nov. 5 ballot. The referendum asks voters if they want to scrap a mandate requiring 10th-graders to demonstrate proficiency in math, English and science by passing tests known as the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System.
“Unfortunately, Question 2 presents only two options — the current statewide graduation requirement, or no statewide standard at all,” Mary Bourque, the group’s executive director and a former Chelsea schools superintendent, said in a statement. “Given those choices, we advocate for the former.”
The school leaders cited a key concern that the proposal “fails to stipulate a replacement for MCAS as a statewide standard for earning a high school diploma.”
They say Question 2’s passage would leave the state without a standard “by which every student in Massachusetts demonstrates readiness to graduate, which will inevitably exacerbate inequity among marginalized student groups.”
The claims echo issues raised in a recent report by Tufts University’s Center for State Policy Analysis, which suggested allowing school districts to set graduation requirements “could make it hard to maintain educational standards,” because districts with poor or falling graduation rates “would be tempted to compensate by lowering expectations.”
“If Question 2 passes, it’s even possible we’d see a race to the bottom among districts,” their report’s authors wrote. “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.”
If voters approve the measure, students would still need to take the 10th-grade MCAS exams, but they would no longer need to earn a passing score or other state approval.
Instead, school districts would set their own criteria for graduation based on statewide educational standards, but wouldn’t be required to use high-stakes exams.
Each year, about 500,000 students take the MCAS — the benchmark standardized test in the state for nearly 30 years.
The testing begins in the third grade, but students in the 10th grade are required to pass the math, English and science exams to graduate from high school. The tests are also designed to identify under-performing schools and districts as candidates for state intervention.
Backers of the ballot question, who are being led by the Massachusetts Teachers Association, say Massachusetts is an outlier as one of only eight states — including Florida, Illinois and Louisiana — that require students to pass a test to graduate from high school.
They argue that the MCAS mandate isn’t a complete picture of a student’s overall abilities and knowledge, and often leaves those who don’t pass the test behind.
Meanwhile, superintendents are also pushing for a public dialogue to consider a broader set of statewide graduation standards, regardless of the outcome of the referendum.
“If Question 2 is defeated, as many of you have indicated you believe it should be, we simply cannot settle for the status quo moving forward,” the association wrote in a recent letter to Gov. Maura Healey and legislative leaders.
“We are asking for your commitment to updating the graduation standards through the legislative process, rather than by a ballot question, using sound research and extensive input from stakeholders across the state.”
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