On Election Day, Massachusetts voters passed the Question 2 ballot initiative, which removed the MCAS standardized test as a graduation requirement for public school students.
Each Massachusetts school district will now be responsible for outlining the graduation requirements for its students.
Sujata Wycoff, press secretary for Boston Public Schools, deferred The Daily Free Press to statements made by Superintendent Mary Skipper on Question 2’s passage at the BPS Committee’s Nov. 6 meeting.
In the meeting, Skipper said BPS high schools adhere to MassCore, a state-recommended educational model that requires a certain number of years in subjects like math, ELA, science and social studies.
“The district’s adoption of MassCore graduation requirements is especially timely given last night’s MCAS vote,” Skipper said. “I want to reassure you and the public that all BPS high schools are aligned to the MassCore, and we continue to make great progress with the implementation of MassCore.”
BPS intends to work closely with the state in moving forward with educational outcomes following the removal of the MCAS test, according to Jeri Robinson, chair of the BPS Committee.
“Our students enter our schools with varying needs, backgrounds and experiences and we welcome them all,” said Robinson. “It is our diversity and differences that make Boston public schools so special.”
NAIOP, a commercial real estate development association, previously urged voters to vote “no” on Question 2.
“The fact that students are no longer going to be required to pass the 10th grade MCAS assessment to graduate is really concerning for us, because it really does mean that each one of the 300 school districts … will be responsible for creating and implementing their own criteria for graduating students,” said Anastasia Daou, vice president of policy and affairs at NAIOP Massachusetts.
Daou said Massachusetts will now have fewer graduation requirements than states that are nationally ranked as some of the lowest in public education.
“Most other states do have a statewide graduation requirement of some sort,” Daou said. “With the passage of Question 2, it actually means that Massachusetts will have lower graduation requirements than states like Mississippi and Alabama.”
Despite NAIOP’s concerns surrounding the decision, Daou said the voters spoke on this issue and the business community must continue to work towards providing opportunities for students.
Massachusetts Progressives, a grassroots organization committed to progressive policy advocacy, endorsed a “yes” vote on Question 2.
The elimination of the MCAS will “enable teachers to engage in more creative structural modes that better engage students in a way that teaching through standardized testing doesn’t,” said Jonathan Cohn, policy director of Progressive Mass.
Cohn said teachers had concerns about the MCAS requirements, especially for students who are unfamiliar with the English language.
“I know teachers in BPS who have spoken about students of theirs who just arrived in the U.S. and are being asked to take this test in a language that they don’t speak, the stress that creates and the fact that they are being effectively set up to fail in that environment,” said Cohn.
Cohn also said removing the MCAS exam will allow teachers to devote less classroom time to test preparation.
Regarding MassCore, the course requirement system implemented by the BPS committee, Cohn said Progressive Mass. is much more supportive of these guidelines than it is of the MCAS exam.
“I think that would be a positive thing for Massachusetts to do in a way that has an equalizing effect across districts that standard high stakes testing has never and could never have,” Cohn said.
Both opposition groups and supporters of the elimination of MCAS requirements look forward to working towards equitable learning strategies and opportunities in the wake of the voters’ decision.
“It’s now time for everyone to come together and really make sure that our students have every opportunity they need,” Daou said. “The voters have spoken, but that also means that we need to make sure that our students have access to the resources they need.”
