High schoolers in Massachusetts may soon have one less graduation requirement to worry about thanks to a ballot question this November.
Ballot Question 2, one of five questions on the ballot this year, will decide whether the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) is eliminated as a high school graduation requirement. A “yes” vote would eliminate MCAS as a graduation requirement. A “no” vote would make no change to the current law requiring students to pass the MCAS to graduate.
The Massachusetts Information for Voters packet, which is mailed to Mass. residents and is available online, outlines the basic arguments. The Massachusetts Teachers Association provided the “in favor” argument and is urging voters to vote yes on Question 2.
The MTA says the MCAS graduation requirement should be replaced with other methods to measure student success and academic achievement.
“MCAS is a one-size-fits-all exam that fails to measure other student achievement measures such as GPA, coursework, and teacher assessments in determining if a student is allowed to graduate. Replacing the MCAS graduation requirement with more comprehensive measures will allow teachers to stop teaching to a test and unburden students from a make-or-break standardized test,” the MTA said in its statement.
The Yes on Question 2 coalition, which includes the Boston Teachers Union, Massachusetts School Counselors Association, and Citizens for Public Schools, is also encouraging voters to vote “yes” on Question 2. On their website, the coalition says “a student’s ability to graduate shouldn’t depend solely on a one-size-fits-all standardized test.”
The Protect Our Kids’ Future coalition made the argument for voting “no” on Question 2.
The group says eliminating MCAS as a graduation requirement will result in some school districts adopting lower standards to allow more students to graduate, resulting in higher levels of inequality.
The group also says “Question 2 is a radical and untested proposal and should be rejected. Significant changes to our education system should be carefully studied, designed, and implemented by experts to ensure these policies are actually better for our kids.”
Among the supporters of voting “no” on Question 2 are Governor Maura Healy, Massachusetts Speaker of the House Ron Mariano, and Massachusetts Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler.
The debate over whether to eliminate the test as a graduation requirement comes amid worsening test scores in recent years. A 2023 report published by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) shows that 58% of tenth graders met or exceeded expectations on the ELA portion of the MCAS.
50% met or exceeded expectations on the mathematics portion, and 47% met or exceeded expectations on the Science, Technology/Engineering (STE) portion.
Recent reporting suggests results from the spring 2024 MCAS did not improve as much as some had hoped. An article by WBUR on Sept. 24 said that 57% of tenth graders “earned a passing score or above” on the ELA portion, compared to 61% in 2019.
Election Day is November 5. The last day to register to vote in Massachusetts is October 26.
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