Question 2: Both sides on whether to eliminate MCAS as a Mass. graduation requirement

By Paris Alston and Gal Tziperman Lotan 26 September 2024

To graduate high school, Massachusetts public school students must pass their 10th grade MCAS exam.

There are other requirements too, typically set by school districts: Students must meet their district’s course requirements, attend school regularly and pass their classes. But without a passing MCAS score or an alternative equivalent, they won’t get their diplomas.

Though MCAS scores have fallen since the start of the COVID pandemic, the majority of high schoolers pass the test on their first try. But a large teachers’ union has been campaigning to do away with the test as a graduation requirement.

This November, Ballot Question 2 will ask voters whether students should be able to graduate high school without passing the MCAS. GBH’s Morning Edition host Paris Alston spoke to campaigns on both sides of the issue.

What would this ballot question do?

The standardized test, formally known as the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, measure students’ knowledge in English, math, and science.

If more than half of voters approve of Question 2, high school students will still have to take the MCAS — but won’t need a passing grade to graduate.

Instead, schools will determine whether students can graduate based on their grades, class credits and attendance.

Question 2 could also have implications for adults who never got their high school diplomas: The ballot measure would allow former Massachusetts students who met every graduation requirement except a passing MCAS score to request a high school diploma.

If voters reject the ballot measure, high school graduation requirements will stay as they are now.

What’s the argument in favor of a ‘yes’ vote on Question 2?

The Massachusetts Teachers Association, a union that represents about 117,000 educators, has been behind the Yes on 2 campaign.

“I was a fifth-grade educator for 25 years, and I believe that it is critical to eliminate this one-time event so that students are allowed to get a diploma based upon their academic performance in grades nine through 12,” said Deb McCarthy, the MTA’s vice president.

Standardized tests are not always the best measure of how much students know, she said, especially for students with individualized education needs, students who don’t speak English as a first language, or students with learning disabilities.

“There is a big difference between understanding the content and the skill set necessary when taking this high-stakes test,” she said. “They may know the content — some of my strongest science and math students were not necessarily the strongest writers, and they were being scored on their ability to write a scripted paragraph rather than their natural mathematical ability in the classroom.”

Teachers have to devote significant time to test prep, she said.

“I feel that this is systemic, that it is repetitive, the harm that is being placed upon certain learning styles,” McCarthy said. “For me as an educator, each one of those students represents a life story that is changed dramatically when their education is reduced to the passage of a one-time test.”

Instead, McCarthy said, no longer relying on the MCAS may allow schools to measure students based on “holistic assessments, teacher evaluations, class performances.”

“It allows all learning styles to meet the standards of the rubric in place,” she said.

And standardized tests “aren’t going anywhere,” McCarthy said.

“The standards are mandated,” she said. “The MCAS will be there, so that the accountability system is still in place. What this does is it allows learners to get a diploma based upon their performance grades 9, 10, 11 and 12.”

Listen to this interview with MTA VP Deb McCarthy here.

Transcript:

Paris Alston: This is GBH’s Morning Edition. The Massachusetts Teachers Association is asking voters to do away with the MCAS as a high school graduation requirement. If ballot Question 2 passes, 10th graders will still have to take the standardized test, but they’ll be able to graduate without a passing grade. MTA Vice President Deb McCarthy is with the Yes on Two campaign and she joins us now. Deb, good morning. Thanks for being here.

Deb McCarthy: My pleasure. Thanks for having me.

Alston: You are pushing for a yes vote on this, which would get rid of the test as a graduation requirement. Why is that necessary?

McCarthy: So I was a fifth grade educator for 25 years, and I believe that it is critical to eliminate this one-time event so that students are allowed to get a diploma based upon their academic performance in grades nine through 12.

Alston: Now, right now, about 90% of Massachusetts high schoolers can pass the MCAS on their first try, and almost 96% of them can pass the test or fulfill an alternative requirement beyond that. So some are saying that this helps catch that small percentage of those who may be falling through the cracks and not meeting those marks, and then therefore give them the extra support that they need. What do you say to that argument?

McCarthy: I disagree. I feel that this is systemic, that it is repetitive, the harm that is being placed upon certain learning styles, in particular students on an IEP, students who are English language learners and students who are dyslexic. And while some talk about it as a percentile, for me as an educator, each one of those students represents a life story that is changed dramatically when their education is reduced to the passage of a one-time test.

Alston: What do you think would be a better measurement of their performance?

McCarthy: The holistic assessments, teacher evaluations, class performances. I really respect the data that comes from conformance assessment tests. It allows all learning styles to meet the standards of the rubric in place.

Alston: And take us inside the classrooms where prep for this test is happening, as is. How much classroom time do teachers usually spend doing that?

McCarthy: A considerable amount of time. And I think it’s an important part of this conversation. There is a big difference between understanding the content and the skill set necessary when taking this high-stakes test. Tests are designed, deliberately, to include the next-best answer for some of our learners. They miss that word 'not.’ They understand the content, but they may not notice that the answer is underneath a picture. They may know the content --- some of my strongest science and math students were not necessarily the strongest writers, and they were being scored on their ability to write a scripted paragraph rather than their natural mathematical ability in the classroom.

Alston: What do you say to parents who feel the MCAS is a measure for them as well, to know where their student is in their learning?

McCarthy: So I am the proud parent of four, grandmother to nine, and when I needed to know how my students were doing or when I asked my children how their children are doing. It is not the MCAS score that we look at. Remember, colleges don’t even ask for the score. That data is given to educators months after the student has left their classroom.

Alston: So, of course, this would still keep the MCAS in place. It would no longer make it a graduation requirement. But in the grand scheme of things, Deb, if there is no longer a statewide standard for graduation, how will the state make sure some districts aren’t lowering their standards to boost those graduation rates?

McCarthy: So one, the standards aren’t going anywhere, right? The standards are mandated. We have standard-based report cards. Your educators are evaluated by the standards. As an educator, you have to select our standards for your evaluation, where you have to provide the data based upon the year’s worth of in-classroom assessments showing the growth, right? We purchase online curriculum aligned to the standards. So the standards aren’t going anywhere. The MCAS will be there, so that the accountability system is still in place. What this does is it allows learners to get a diploma based upon their performance grades 9, 10, 11 and 12.

Alston: Well, that is MTA Vice President Deb McCarthy, who is pushing for a yes vote on ballot question two this November. Deb, thank you so much.

McCarthy: Thank you.

Alston: We’ll be covering all five ballot questions that Massachusetts voters will be deciding this election on Morning Edition. To learn more about each and all things Election 2024, you can head to our Web site, GBH news.org. And coming up in October, both sides of each question will debate the issues at hand on Boston Public Radio. Stay tuned to GBH 89.7 and GBHnews.org for more info. Coming up on Morning Edition, we’ll get a little growing wisdom from meteorologist Dave Epstein, this time talking about hurricanes. You’re listening to GBH News.