MCAS Question: What will and will not change if Massachusetts voters approve Question 2?
By Kinga Borondy 18 September 2024
In addition to deciding their pick for president of the United States, Massachusetts voters in November will weigh in on five ballot initiatives. This is the second in a series of stories explaining each question of the Massachusetts Ballot Questions in the 2024 Election.
Massachusetts voters will be asked in November who should determine graduation standards for public high school students in the coming years: Should the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education continue this mission through the standardized MCAS exam or should it be left up to each district to devise its own local criteria.
The question, Question 2, is one of five ballot initiatives on the line in the November elections.
Even if voters approve the ballot initiative, the MCAS would continue to be part of life for all Massachusetts public school students. The initiative would not eliminate the test; students in grades three through eight and 10th graders would still be required to take the exam in math, English, language arts and science, technology and engineering.
Currently, students must score a passing grade on the 10th grade MCAS and pass local competency requirements to graduate.
Proponents argue that eliminating the MCAS requirement would allow local educators, administrators and parents to have a voice in creating standards for the youngsters in their communities. Committees charged with creating new standards could address disparities within their districts ensuring that English language learners, special needs students and those who struggle in a school setting are not disadvantaged on meeting graduation requirements.
Proponents of the measure believe eliminating MCAS as a graduation requirement will allow teachers more freedom to set curriculum, decrease the need to “teach to the test” and allow them to pay more attention to subjects that are not part of the standardized exam.
They believe standardized tests are an imperfect measure of learning and fail to consider the full spectrum of students’ learning abilities.
Opponents argue that strong statewide standards have helped make Massachusetts' public education system one of the best in the country and that MCAS is strongly correlated with future academic and economic success.
The state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education uses a school district's performance on MCAS, along with other data points including graduation rates, to issue annual report cards for each district.
Opponents of Question 2 say that repealing the MCAS requirement will prompt districts to enact lower graduation standards to achieve a higher graduation rate, triggering “a race to the bottom” among struggling districts.
How many students fail to pass the MCAS?
According to the Tufts Tisch College School Center for State Policy Analysis, about 700 students, or 1% of high school seniors statewide, do not graduate because they failed to pass the MCAS despite meeting other requirements. Some of these students are English language learners, have disabilities or have struggled with school attendance due to personal issues.
Who is supporting and opposing Question 2?
The Massachusetts Teachers Association has put its weight behind the question, donating more than $3 million so far to the Committee for High Standards not High Stakes to ensure it passes.
Opposition includes Gov. Maura T. Healey and her commissioner of education, the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents and business groups.
The main organization opposing Question 2, the Committee to Protect Our Kids' Future, has so far raised $936,035.
