In order to graduate from public high school in Massachusetts, students have to have taken and passed the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) exam.
This election, Question 2 on the ballot is asking if you want to remove the MCAS as a requirement for graduation.
The MCAS exam was created in the 1990s as part of the 1993 Massachusetts Education Reform Act, as a way to evaluate learning progress and to make sure students were meeting the academic standards set in the state’s public schools curriculum.
The MCAS is given to all students in grades 3 to 8 in English language arts and mathematics.
The test has been a requirement for graduation since 2003, and it was expanded in 2017 to a new version, which encompasses more sets of skills, synthesizing information and writing.
The Massachusetts Teachers Association, however, is calling for the test to be removed as a high school graduation requirement.
“This emphasis on a single test undermines our high education standards and forces teachers to teach test-taking skills instead of critical thinking and individualized learning,” a statement on the MTA’s Yes on 2 website reads.
Proponents of keeping the test as a requirement say it helps monitor all students’ progress in a uniform way, preventing major discrepancies in how school districts teach and what kids are learning,
Protect Our Kids’ Future: No on 2 is an organization dedicated to stopping the ballot question from passing.
“Massachusetts has the best K-12 education system in the country, but won’t for long if Question 2 becomes law,” a statement on the No on 2 website reads. “In fact, Massachusetts would have less rigorous high school graduation requirements than Mississippi and Alabama. Such a radical and untested proposal should be rejected.”
It’s worth noting that the ballot question would not remove the test as a requirement for 10th graders. The test would still be administered to 10th grade students to monitor their progress,
Tufts conducted an in-depth analysis of the ballot question’s potential impacts, which you can read here.
A “yes” vote removes the MCAS as a graduation requirement for public high school students.
A “no” vote keeps things as is, with the MCAS as a graduation requirement.