CAMPAIGN PRESS RELEASE: VIDEO: Sen. Elizabeth Warren + Rep. Ayanna Pressley Endorse Yes on 2
2 October 2024
On a call with hundreds of educators, the Massachusetts leaders reinforced their commitment to maintaining high standards but eliminating harmful high-stakes testing.
BOSTON (October 2, 2024) – Last night, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Ayanna Pressley joined a call with more than 340 educators and MTA members from around the commonwealth to endorse Yes on 2 and the effort to end the MCAS graduation requirement.
Senator Warren told the group she’s proud to stand with educators “to fight these righteous fights":
"I believe in public schools all the way down to my toes. I believe they are the places where we build opportunity for all our children and the places where we strengthen our democracy. So I will always stand by our public school teachers, including on Question 2 this November. We need to make sure that Massachusetts schools continue to be the best in the nation, and that means elected officials and teachers working hand in hand to come up with sensible ways to assess our students.”
Representative Pressley endorsed Yes on 2, saying “if you have dedicated teachers in your corner, you’re on the right track”:
“Testing is a tool, that’s it. But for far too long, high-stakes tests in Massachusetts have gotten in the way of instruction, and in my view, done a disservice to our learning communities. That’s not to say there isn’t a role for formative and summative assessments, but we need to be focused on all the factors that contribute to student success and equip our schools and educators with the tools they need to support our learners.
“I’ll say, for someone like myself who was a poor test taker, if educators had not realized who I was holistically and wanted to invest in and nurture and cultivate and encourage my leadership skills, I don’t know where I would be today. This is about equipping our teachers with the tools they need to support our learners. This is about school nurses in every school. It’s about trauma informed support. It’s about intentional, equity-focused policies that support our students of color and our students with disabilities. A high stakes test is far too blunt a tool to do that work alone.
"So I am proud to stand with you today and always in pursuit of educational equity and responsive policies that create the conditions for all of our students to succeed."
Senator Warren and Representative Pressley now join three of their colleagues in the Massachusetts federal delegation in backing the Yes on 2 ballot campaign: Representatives Jim McGovern, Lori Trahan and Bill Keating have all also sided with students, educators and parents in calling for an end to high-stakes testing in Massachusetts.
Yes on 2 continues to gain momentum with just 35 days left until the election. These two commitments come on the heels of major endorsements from more than 55 Massachusetts state legislators and a broad coalition of organizations, business leaders, parents, teachers, students, medical professionals, and concerned citizens.
Learn more about the Yes on 2 campaign and the effort to replace the MCAS graduation requirement at www.yesonquestion2ma.com.
