BOSTON — Critics of high-stakes testing are urging voters to approve a proposal to remove the MCAS exam requirement to graduate from high school, but critics say the move would eliminate a crucial tool for measuring students’ progress through public school.
Question 2, one of five referendums on the Nov. 5 ballot, asks voters if they want to scrap the decades-old mandate requiring 10th-grade students to demonstrate proficiency in math, English and science through a series of standardized tests known as the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System.
A “yes” vote would still require students to take the 10th-grade MCAS exams, but they would no longer need to earn a passing score or other state approval. School districts would need to set their own criteria for graduation based on statewide educational standards.
A “no” vote would keep the status quo, requiring students to pass the 10th-grade MCAS exams to graduate.
Each year, about 500,000 students take the MCAS — the benchmark “gold standard” 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 Question 2, which include the Massachusetts Teachers Association, argue that Massachusetts has become an outlier as one of a handful of states that requires students to pass a test to graduate from high school. They say the testing isn’t a complete picture of a student’s abilities, and often leaves those who don’t pass the test behind.
“Massachusetts residents are ready to join the vast majority of states that have scrapped the use of standardized tests as a graduation requirement and instead use authentic, educator-designed assessments of student skills,” MTA President Max Page said.
“The MCAS will still be taken, as is required by federal law, but it will be used for diagnostic purposes, and not as a high-stakes test required for earning a diploma.”
Supporters of the graduation requirement, including the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education, argue that the exams are necessary to expose inequities among students and school districts, measure trends in student outcomes, and gauge readiness for college and the workplace.
John Schneider, chair of the Protect Our Kids Future: NO on Question 2 campaign, said eliminating the MCAS graduation standard “will effectively weaken the proficiency we expect students to meet, and that is disastrous for both employers and students.”
“Employers in Massachusetts understand the importance of maintaining high standards in education — not only to provide an educated workforce for our growing industries, but also to provide equal opportunities for students from every community across Massachusetts to fill the jobs our companies are creating,” he said.
“Without a statewide standard for graduation, our public education system could easily fall back into mediocrity.”
The Massachusetts Superintendents Association, which represents school administrators, also opposes Question 2, citing a key concern that the proposal “fails to stipulate a replacement for MCAS as a statewide standard for earning a high school diploma.”
Both sides have raised and spent millions of dollars for TV and digital ads to convince voters to keep or do away with the MCAS requirement. They’ve also traded barbs about claims of misleading advertising.
Recent polls have shown a slight majority of the state’s voters support Question 2, but pollsters say opposition to the referendum could tighten as the election draws closer.
A recent report by Tufts University’s Center for State Policy Analysis suggested that allowing school districts to set graduation requirements could start a “a race to the bottom” because districts with poor or falling graduation rates “would be tempted to compensate by lowering expectations.”
But the report’s authors, who didn’t take a position on Question 2, also said that scrapping the MCAS graduation requirement could free up teachers to focus less on test preparation and more on knowledge and skills that aren’t covered by a standardized exam.
The Tuft’s report also points out that despite claims by Question 2 supporters, state educational data shows the MCAS requirement “rarely” prevents students from getting a high school diploma. Most students eventually meet the requirements to graduate, the report notes.
The debate over the graduation mandate comes as the latest MCAS results show students’ test scores are still lagging behind pre-pandemic years.
Among 10th-graders, science scores increased but math and English Language Arts scores dropped slightly, according to the results of the spring exams released last month by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Not surprisingly, supporters and opponents of Question 2 seized on the data to back their claims that the high school graduation requirement should be scrapped or maintained.
State education officials blamed chronic absenteeism for the across-the-board drop in MCAS scores, with a high percentage of students missing more than 10% of the school year, or 18 days in the previous school year. Those numbers have dropped below 20% since the pandemic, but remain high, state officials said.
Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.