What does Question 2 do? 

It no longer requires students to achieve a minimum score on 10th grade MCAS exams in order to graduate from high school. It requires school districts instead to certify that a student has successfully completed coursework aligned with the state’s academic standards in the areas currently tested by MCAS – English language arts, science and math – in order to earn a diploma. 

Does the question get rid of MCAS altogether? 

No. Students will still take MCAS exams starting in Grade 3 (as mandated by federal law) and educators and school districts will receive the same data they currently receive. 

Voting Yes on Question 2 will simply reduce the MCAS score to one of many data points that can be used in assessing a student’s likelihood for success. This will create a balanced approach to accountability that allows other forms of student assessment like GPA, coursework and teacher feedback to determine graduation.

Does the question end or diminish state academic standards? 

No. Massachusetts has some of the best academic standards and curriculum frameworks in the country and those are set by state law and unrelated to the MCAS. Teacher preparation programs, evaluations, grading, and lesson plans are all rooted in these standards that apply to every public school in Massachusetts. 

In actuality, the focus on testing because of the MCAS graduation requirement undermines our state’s high standards. The high stakes of MCAS associated with the graduation requirement create too much pressure on students and teachers, who need to then teach students how to successfully pass the test. This over-focus on a test score takes away from time teachers need to use diverse teaching strategies to meet the diverse learning styles of students, offer richer, standards-based work, and help young people develop the skills they need to succeed in college and career.

How will we ensure that all diplomas are of equal value, no matter from which school a student graduates from? 

Our state’s high education standards already set the criteria for how to evaluate students and teachers. Coursework is grounded in the same standards for all students, set by Massachusetts law. Successful completion of that work means a student is graduating with the knowledge and skills necessary to continue to higher education or advance to careers and career training.  

What happens when a student does not pass the tenth grade MCAS tests? 

Students who fail to achieve required minimum scores on tenth grade MCAS exams have the opportunity to take the test again in grades 11 and 12. There is also a process that allows students to appeal MCAS scores as well as the opportunity for students to enter education proficiency plans when scores are too low to qualify for a diploma. 

But make no mistake, the students’ lives and school experience will be irrevocably changed after a “failed” test, and almost always for the worse. The focus on test-taking skills pulls these students, who often need more attention and individualized learning, away from the type of education they require. Plus, the focus on the test and the indication that they could be denied graduation despite their efforts and progress in school hang a heavy burden on students, making a high-stakes situation even harder and more anxiety-provoking. 

Educators have pointed out that students re-taking the test or participating in proficiency plans have narrow course selections and more limited opportunities to participate in other high-school activities and programs, and to develop the skills they will need to succeed after graduation.  

Replacing the MCAS graduation requirement will create a balanced approach to accountability that includes multiple forms of assessment like GPA, coursework and teacher feedback. This way, we can ensure schools and teachers are accountable to all students, not just test scores.

What if a student successfully completes his or her coursework and meets all other high-school requirements but still does not achieve a “passing” MCAS score? 

Today, if a Massachusetts high school student passes all of their coursework, demonstrating competency in all of our state’s educational standards, they can still be denied their diploma if they miss the mark by one point on their MCAS. Question 2 will right this wrong.

This is exactly why over 170,000 concerned citizens signed a petition to place Question 2 on the ballot and are now fighting to eliminate the MCAS graduation requirement. A high-stakes, one-size-fits-all test should not have the power to decide whether or not a student who has met the state’s standards is allowed to graduate. 

Do many students get denied a diploma for “failing” the MCAS? 

About 700 students each year are denied a diploma simply because of MCAS scores. This is especially problematic because standardized tests like the MCAS notoriously stack the deck against specific groups of students who learn differently. Students with learning disabilities, students whose first language is not English, students of color and students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds are most often the ones denied a diploma strictly because of low MCAS scores. 

Far more than those 700 are impacted throughout high school because of the harmful MCAS graduation requirement: 

Just this past year, 16,000 10th grade students in Massachusetts failed the MCAS. Now those students start the arduous and anxiety-filled journey of being pulled away from individualized learning and other activities to focus on test taking skills before their next shot at the test. 

Research has also shown that a standardized test graduation requirement contributes to students dropping out of high school. A Brown University study looked at students of similar backgrounds and similar academic achievement, with one group of students barely passing MCAS and the other barely failing MCAS. Students who failed were nearly 10 percent more  likely to drop out.

Is changing state policy necessary to address a problem affecting 700 students each year? 

Yes. The MCAS graduation requirement affects every student, no matter their test score. 

Even the brightest students often struggle with standardized tests because they're afraid of getting a question wrong and are consumed by anxiety.

Though most students do achieve scores necessary to graduate, the emphasis placed on the test comes at the cost of denying students other learning opportunities, even in elementary school. Gearing so much learning time to prepare students for standardized tests takes away time from project-based learning and other techniques educators can use to present work based on state academic standards. 

The students who do not test well, as well as many who do, are prone to becoming anxious, distressed or depressed around the time their schools administer standardized tests. The message students hear is clear - the tests have high stakes. 

One test performance should not undermine the confidence of a student who is learning required material and demonstrating academic achievement. 

How much time is devoted to MCAS exams? 

A significant amount of time that could instead be devoted to in-classroom learning that promotes critical thinking, group work and the skills vitally necessary to a student’s success after graduation. 

Because of the exams’ high stakes in determining graduation, schools inevitably devote weeks at a time each spring for both test prep and test administration. The students in 10th grade who need to retake the test then spend more time away from more diverse and enriching coursework to focus on more test preparation. Additionally, guidance counselors often oversee the re-testing process, and that takes away their time from providing other services to students in their caseloads. 

Has the MCAS graduation requirement improved Massachusetts schools? 

No. Massachusetts schools have always ranked among the best in the nation. 

MCAS scores have demonstrated that our state still has achievement gaps between white students and students of color, but those tests have not closed the gaps. Increased funding to schools has improved Massachusetts’s student scores on national assessments, but that trend did not change when MCAS was made a graduation requirement.