It’s time to get on board with thousands of other parents, students and educators across Massachusetts and make sure Question 2 passes in November.
Question 2 would eliminate the unfair and harmful MCAS graduation requirement, which has a huge impact on high school schedules and reduces the time that could be spent on teaching and learning. That’s why most other states have abandoned their high school graduation tests, leaving Massachusetts as one of just nine (soon to be eight) states clinging to this antiquated policy.
Question 2 doesn’t eliminate MCAS testing; it just makes the MCAS score one of many things that schools can use to assess a student’s likelihood of success after high school. This will make it possible for educators to focus on providing a whole child education and stop spending so much time and attention preparing for these narrow tests.’
In Massachusetts high schools, high-stakes MCAS testing takes place during five of the nine months of the school year. “What we don’t realize is what standardized testing does to a school,” says Elizabeth Wood, Principal of South Hadley High School. “It essentially shuts the school down for that time. So, how much teaching and learning is really happening during those days?…In high school, I start to retest in November. I start to retest in February. I test in March. I retest in March. I test in May and I test in June. So, all that time spent testing could also be valuable time spent teaching and learning.”
If you want to join us hitting the doors and the phones to spread the word (and the truth!) about what the ballot question will and will not do, you can sign up here. Or reach out to us (lisa@citizensforpublicschools.org) for other ways to help out.
