Massachusetts has had world-class, comprehensive K-12 educational standards since the passage of the 1993 Education Reform Act. These standards are deeply embedded throughout our K-12 system. MCAS tests are not state standards. They are limited assessments that address only a small portion of the state standards. Our uniform state standards will continue to shape teaching, learning and assessment, with or without the MCAS graduation requirement. Read our new fact sheet and/or download it below.
→ Read MoreMCAS grad test puts the squeeze on our students’ high school education
February 12, 2024 by
MCAS defenders say the graduation requirement provides a standard, objective measure of achievement.
Public education advocates say the MCAS graduation requirement distorts and narrows high school education. It leads to dull test prep instead of teaching students problem-solving, creativity, critical thinking, and real-world skills.
MCAS defenders say MCAS shines a light on inequity.
Public education advocates say the ballot question doesn’t eliminate MCAS, just its use as a graduation requirement. MCAS scores are linked to parental income and education levels, opportunity gaps that educators and families already know exist. The MCAS graduation requirement has failed to address the unequal opportunities driving the test score gap. By disproportionately punishing high-needs students and schools, it widens educational gaps between the haves and have nots.
MCAS defenders say we’re not doing students any favors by letting them graduate without passing a test.
Public education advocates say “low-stakes” testing — not tied to grades or the ability to graduate — is more effective for evaluating students and for identifying educational deficits. → Read More
Join us to celebrate these Unsung Heroes of Public Education
December 8, 2023 by
Save the date and join us on Thursday, December 14, at 7pm by Zoom for Citizens for Public Schools’ Annual Meeting. Help us honor and celebrate three groups of Unsung Heroes of Public Education: the New Bedford Coalition to Save Our Schools, the Concerned Educators of Color, and three extraordinary bloggers and podcasters – Jack Schneider, Jennifer Berkshire and Maurice Cunningham.
To register, learn more about our unsung heroes and see what’s on the agenda for our annual meeting, click here. → Read More
The MCAS, Dropouts and Tortured Logic
October 31, 2023 by
Summary
Proponents of the MCAS graduation requirement have shared high school dropout data intended to show that the requirement is not a major obstacle to obtaining a diploma. However, they both omitted important data and erroneously interpreted other data. A clear-eyed review of a wider swath of evidence revealed a very different picture. This evidence indicated that (1) the graduation requirement has caused some historically underserved students to drop out; (2) students who failed the 10th grade MCAS were 17 times more likely to drop out than their peers who passed the exams; and (3) the dropout rate for students failing the MCAS has increased from 15 percent in 2015 to 18 percent in 2019.
Massachusetts goes to considerable expense and effort to collect data on MCAS results and dropout rates. Data can be used selectively to bolster or undermine a policy. So, what do the data actually show about the connection between the high-stakes MCAS and dropout rates? → Read More
Come to a gala celebration of CPS’s 40+ years of education justice work!
October 10, 2023 by
Please register today and join us on Thursday, October 19, at 7pm (by Zoom), for a virtual party to celebrate more than 40 years of education justice work, to honor the many people who have been part of CPS, and to look ahead at our challenges and opportunities. Our special guest will be Congressman Jamaal Bowman, an educator and champion of education justice. Click on the button below to register and learn more about the event.
→ Read More
