FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CLE Says YES on 2 – Decouple the MCAS from a High School Diploma
It is fundamentally unfair to deny students a high school diploma based on a test of material that they did not have an adequate opportunity to learn (CLE established this principle in the landmark case Debra P. v. Turlington). The MCAS purports to measure students against the very standards that many of our historically marginalized students have not been adequately taught to. The remedy for closing achievement gaps and ensuring that all students receive a high-quality education cannot be to use a high-stakes test to hold students accountable for what amount to failures by their schools, districts, and the state to ensure they are appropriately educated. CLE supports Question 2’s decoupling the MCAS from a high school diploma.
While Massachusetts prides itself for its educational outcomes, a majority of students in the state are not proficient in the skills and knowledge that the state has declared all students should master. And the reality is that differential standards of learning, curriculum, and instruction have existed throughout the Commonwealth for decades. A student’s opportunity to access high-quality education has often come down to factors well beyond their control, such as what zip code they live in, whether they have access to qualified, culturally competent, and supported teachers, or whether they are held to high expectations and taught (and for those who fall behind, accelerated back to grade-level) accordingly. Students from low-income families, disproportionately students of color, students with disabilities, and multilingual learners, have borne the brunt of these educational inequities and are – through no fault of their own – frequently deprived of meaningful opportunities to learn to the challenging state academic standards that Massachusetts has said all students should learn to. The Commonwealth’s use of the MCAS as a high-stakes test has only served to compound these long-standing issues.
Students who would otherwise graduate, having passed their courses and learned the material that they have been taught, should do so. That their education does not measure up to what the state has said all students should learn is tragic. But the remedy is to improve that education so that it does measure up; not to add to the injury of these students by forcing them through a high-stakes test to demonstrate competency of material they have had insufficient opportunity to learn. Denying students diplomas for what they have not been adequately taught is a drastic punishment that cuts them off from huge swaths of post-secondary opportunities and is a practice that must be ended.
Success on Question 2 is a step forward on the path to educational equity, but it is just one step. Significant work remains to be done to ensure that all students receive a truly equitable and high-quality education. Some of these challenges include the need for greater access to fully qualified teachers, authentic learning opportunities that go beyond test preparation and in-depth exposure to the full range of curricular opportunities (the diminishment of both was not a necessary consequence of the MCAS, but did often occur in practice), and resource allocation that adequately supports all schools, particularly those in low-income areas.
We are committed to addressing these challenges through sustained advocacy, collaboration, and policy reforms that ensure every student in the Commonwealth receives an equitable, high-quality education that empowers their future. And regardless of the outcome on November 5th, CLE remains steadfast in our dedication to making the right to high-quality education a reality for all students.
