Lawmakers try to ease weight of MCAS
by John Laidler, Boston Globe
May 6, 2007
Two lawmakers from this area are hoping to gain traction on a bill that would drop the requirement that students pass the MCAS test in order to graduate from high school.
State Representative Carl Sciortino, a Medford Democrat, and state Senator Pam Resor, an Acton Democrat, are lead sponsors of a measure that would create a "multiple assessment" system for determining whether a student should graduate, in place of the single test now used.
"Right now, we have a one-size-fits-all, high-stakes test," Sciortino said. "By incorporating testing into an overall assessment system, we would get a better picture of whether students are actually succeeding which doesn't rely on a single test that has many flaws."
The bill, which will be the topic of a legislative hearing tentatively scheduled for June 5, would create a 31-member commission to develop the assessment system, according to Sciortino. The Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System would remain, but performance on the test would be just one of many criteria that together would determine if a student graduates.
"No test has ever been perfect," Resor said. "And there are many individuals who do not test well but do know the materials." She said there are also "many other aspects of a good quality education that those tests can't measure."
Sciortino and Resor said they hope that even if the bill fails to pass, it will spur discussion of the issue.
"The first challenge for us is to start raising awareness about some of the negative consequences of high- stakes testing and start pointing people in the direction of trying to make a better system," Sciortino said.