© 2024 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WECS · WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM · WVOF
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Massachusetts Board of Education votes to raise MCAS scores required for graduation

 Student fills dots out on a standardized test.
Nguyen Dang Hoang
/
unsplash.com/@nguyendhn
Student fills dots out on a standardized test.

The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted Monday to raise standardized test scores needed for high school students to graduate.

The new Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System

(MCAS) requirements will apply to students graduating in the class of 2026 to 2029.

The 8-3 vote came with dissent from many parents, teachers, students, and nearly 100 state lawmakers. Max Page, president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, was one of them.

"The people behind me, the educators, unions, parents, students will stay committed until each of you who continue to reinforce this high stakes testing regime have moved on to other places and we've replaced you with people who will reverse this two decades long travesty," he said.

Lawmakers created the MCAS system in a 1993 education reform law aimed at improving accountability and school performance. The first tests were administered in 1998, and students have been required to achieve sufficient scores to graduate since the class of 2003.

Commissioner Jeff Riley said his proposal is measured and gives students who were out of school during the pandemic the opportunity to get "back on track" after learning loss.

"I believe in raising the standards and improving the EPP (Educational Proficiency Plan) particularly because parents need to be told the truth about where there students are functioning," he said. "In raising the standards we are actually playing catch up."

This report includes information from State House News Service.

Copyright 2022 New England Public Media. To see more, visit New England Public Media.

Nirvani Williams
Nirvani Williams covers socioeconomic disparities for New England Public Media, joining the news team in June 2021 through Report for America. Prior to this, Williams was the associate editor of Seema, an online publication dedicated to spreading more stories about women in the Indian diaspora, and has written a variety of articles, including a story about a Bangladeshi American cybersecurity expert and her tips for protecting phone data while protesting. Williams interned at WABC-TV’s “Eyewitness News,” WSHU public radio, and La Voce di New York, a news site in Italian and English. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Stony Brook University, where she was the executive editor of the student-run culture magazine, The Stony Brook Press.

Stand up for civility

This news story is funded in large part by Connecticut Public’s Members — listeners, viewers, and readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information.

We hope their support inspires you to donate so that we can continue telling stories that inform, educate, and inspire you and your neighbors. As a community-supported public media service, Connecticut Public has relied on donor support for more than 50 years.

Your donation today will allow us to continue this work on your behalf. Give today at any amount and join the 50,000 members who are building a better—and more civil—Connecticut to live, work, and play.

Related Content
Connecticut Public’s journalism is made possible, in part by funding from Jeffrey Hoffman and Robert Jaeger.