On October 31, The Daily Hampshire Gazette published an op-ed that Dr. Stephen G. Sireci, Distinguished Professor and executive director of the Center for Educational Assessment at UMass Amherst, and I wrote on why we are voting yes on Ballot Question #2.
The op-ed in The Daily Hampshire Gazette can be found here.
Read on for a longer version of the op-ed.
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Question 2 is simple. It asks voters one question: Do you want to end high-stakes testing — the practice of allowing one test to determine whether or not a student receives a high school diploma?
Our answer to that question is a resounding YES, which is why we are voting YES on Question 2.
Here are five (of many) reasons why:
- Only eight of 50 states — including Massachusetts — require students to pass a test to graduate high school. Our state is going against the national trend of removing barriers for students to attend college and be eligible for higher-wage jobs.
- A YES vote keeps the MCAS test in place. What it ends is giving outsized power to this standardized test to determine whether or not a student receives a high school diploma. Caregivers, educators, students, administrators, and state officials will still receive MCAS results. Voting YES places the value of and responsibility for acting on that information in the hands of administrators, teachers, state officials, legislators, and caregivers, rather increasing the burden on already stressed students.
- Massachusetts has provided no evidence the MCAS graduation requirement has helped students or businesses in Massachusetts. The high-stakes MCAS graduation requirement has been in effect since 2003, so there should be ample evidence to show it is helping students learn. Unfortunately, data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), which tracks the performance of students across states in grades 4 and 8, shows the opposite. For example, in grade 8, Massachusetts students’ performance has decreased in both NAEP math and reading since 2013 (a drop from 301 to 284 in math, and from 277 to 269 in reading). In grade 4, Massachusetts students have also decreased in performance in both math and reading since 2013. It is hard to defend the test-based policies of our state when, if we take the time to evaluate them, they fall flat. We find it interesting, and unconvincing, that the state has given us no hard data to support continuation of this test-based graduation requirement.
- An MCAS graduation requirement disproportionately stacks the deck against many students — especially — students with learning disabilities and test-taking anxiety, English Language Learners, and those from marginalized communities.
Upwards of 700 Massachusetts students each year pass all requisite coursework but do not graduate with a high school diploma simply because they missed the cutoff score on an MCAS test. Their score on one test then forecloses untold opportunities for future advancement and leaves them vulnerable to potential negative economic and social consequences.
In addition to correlating with increased dropout rates, high-stakes testing also devalues the pursuit of alternate pathways like technical and vocational education, which can lead to career success after graduation and help bolster the Commonwealth’s economy.
- Massachusetts’ educational standards — separate from the MCAS test — such as the required courses students must take, are among the highest in the nation and apply to every single school district, and every single grade. Eliminating the high-stakes nature of MCAS right-sizes the information gained from standardized testing while allowing Massachusetts standards to be upheld through multiple forms of assessment by educators. This more balanced approach preserves the integrity of our education system while being responsive to diverse learners. Ending the high-stakes nature of testing acknowledges that students should have the opportunity to demonstrate competency and capacity in a broader, more comprehensive range of ways which include existing state standards.
High Stakes, a publication of National Academies Press, publisher for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine put a fine point on this issue: “no single test score can be considered a definitive measure of a student’s knowledge. An educational decision that will have a major impact on a test taker should not be made solely or automatically on the basis of a single test score. Other relevant information about the student’s knowledge and skills should also be taken into account.”
Informed business leaders, educators, caregivers, and community members have come together to support YES on Question 2, recognizing that a balanced assessment system has the potential to raise the bar on excellence while benefiting everyone.
U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey as well as U.S. Members of Congress Ayanna Pressley, Jim McGovern, Lori Trahan, and Bill Keating are Yes on 2. Sixty members of the State Legislature — House and Senate — are Yes on 2. Municipal, organizational, and community leader endorsements are rolling in, including the Massachusetts Association of School Committees.
The campaign for Yes on 2 is funded through membership dues of public educators — while New York billionaire Michael Bloomberg helps to bankroll the opposition to the tune of $2.5 million.
We support a change that honors the unique talents and diverse needs of our students and upholds the principles of fairness and excellence in education. Let’s increase opportunities for our children, rather than put up barriers. We are voting YES on Question 2.
