FRCMedia is conducting interviews with those in favor and opposed to the five ballot questions in this year’s State Election. Today we focus on Question 2, eliminating the requirement for high school students to pass the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) test to graduate.
You can watch the full interviews on our Election 2024 web page.
Voting yes will eliminate the graduation requirement. Voting no will keep the requirement in place.
Former Fall River Mayor Edward Lambert, currently the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education executive director, is part of a group asking voters to vote no. He says that in the 20 years since MCAS has been a requirement, it has been a fair assessment in measuring student success.
Fifth-grade educator and vice president of the Massachusetts Teacher’s Association Deb McCarthy says when MCAS first launched she supported the requirement. As time passed, she saw how, in the view of those supporting Question 2, the test started to discriminate against some student learners.
Mr. Lambert says if passing MCAS is eliminated the only requirement for students in the state to graduate will be to complete four years of physical education. And those he meets within the business community are concerned future employees will not have the skills to compete for high-skilled jobs.
Ms. McCarthy says teachers spend too much time teaching to the test and are limited in their autonomy to provide targeted instruction to ensure students are well-rounded when they graduate.
Some powerful statewide officials have signaled their intention to vote no on Question 2, arguing eliminating the requirement creates a deeper disparity between urban and suburban student success.
The Fall River School Committee and many parents have come out in favor of eliminating the MCAS requirement. Ms. McCarthy says attempts to work with state officials to make changes to MCAs have fallen on deaf ears, necessitating the need for the ballot initiative.
