“IF I FAIL, will I have to stay in third grade?” asked wide-eyed Kari, while 20 other pairs of eyes looked at me for an answer, too. “You’re not going to fail and we don’t get the scores until you are already in fourth grade,” I reassured them.
Years later, I still remember this conversation. Variations of it happen every January when teachers begin preparing for the state test, the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS). The students aren’t the only ones feeling the stress. Teachers experience testing anxiety, too. I used to hate the MCAS and wanted it gone.
But then, my thinking shifted as I realized how important the MCAS is. During my Teach Plus Massachusetts Policy Fellowship, I heard from fellow teachers and one of the commissioners from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, soaking up facts that were new to me, even though I have been teaching for 21 years. I learned that the MCAS is our only state-wide graduation requirement, there are ways to appeal if a student has not met the qualifying score, and a proficient score is not the cutoff for graduation. I have now become an advocate to keep the test.
Our students start taking the MCAS in third grade as required by federal law to ensure they are being instructed in the standards, as well as to measure their growth. Students in Massachusetts must pass the 10th grade English language arts, math, and science exams before they can graduate.
This is the consistent statewide benchmark that Kari and every student in the Commonwealth deserve to have and which the MCAS ensures. Since Massachusetts does not have a comprehensive course requirement to graduate like most states (Vermont is the only other state without a graduation requirement), taking away the MCAS would mean that there would be 300-plus different and unequal standards for graduation across the Commonwealth. This patchwork would not serve our students.
Instead, the MCAS ensures a consistent standard of learning. Passing the MCAS in math, English language arts, and science means that students have been taught and learned the content outlined in the Massachusetts Common Core State Standards. It is the only measure we currently have to ensure all students in the Commonwealth are being taught the same content and skills, no matter their zip code.
If students are unable to pass the MCAS or demonstrate competency using one of the alternate pathways, then they have not learned what they need in order to go on to higher education or perform in the workplace.
Those who oppose using the MCAS as a graduation requirement argue that it prevents students from graduating. Data proves otherwise. Since the MCAS was implemented in 2003, graduation rates have increased, demonstrating that the MCAS is not a barrier to obtaining a diploma for most students.
Long after I had Kari as a third grader, she and the majority of her classmates passed the 10th grade MCAS required for graduation. The year she graduated, 98 percent of her classmates had graduated with her. In 2019, for example, for the 1 percent of Massachusetts students who had difficulty passing the assessment, there were multiple options to obtain that competency determination allowing them to graduate.
In addition, the MCAS serves as an important data point for teachers like me. I use it to fill in my students’ learning gaps. For Kari, that meant supporting her in foundational reading skills.
Today, Massachusetts is in the midst of a literacy crisis, as demonstrated by the continued decline of English language arts scores across all grade levels on the spring 2024 state assessment exam. For years, the MCAS data shows our students are not able to read and understand complex text. This is an essential skill, so we should be focusing on using research-based strategies to teach our students how to read fluently by third grade. When they are fluent readers, they will make the switch from learning to read to reading to learn. Then, as the MCAS scores increase, we will have the data to show we are doing what our students need. However, if we lower standards by removing the MCAS as a graduation requirement, then we are harming the very children we care most about.
When parents and students like Kari ask me about the Massachusetts graduation requirement these days, I explain that it is necessary so that our young people are ready for the future that awaits them. I will now be voting “no” on Question 2 so that we keep the state assessment as a graduation requirement and ensure students such as Kari graduate with the skills they need to lead successful lives.
Jennifer Amento is a second grade teacher at Kenneth C Coombs Elementary in Mashpee, Massachusetts, and a 2024-2025 Teach Plus Massachusetts senior policy dellow.
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