CHICOPEE, Mass. — The MCAS Test will remain a part of the Massachusetts education curriculum moving forward, but it will no longer be a state requirement for students to pass to graduate high school.
What You Need To Know
- The MCAS Test will remain a part of the Massachusetts education curriculum moving forward but it will no longer be a state requirement for students to pass to graduate high school.
- The Massachusetts Teachers Association, which is a union made up of 117,000 public school and college educators, has believed for years the standardized test was a detriment to students’ success and would lead to dropouts and disruptions of the school curriculum.
- MTA President Max Page said the state academic standards apply to all school districts in the commonwealth and believes eliminating the MCAS as a requirement will also help teachers better support student needs.
- Page said the new MCAS policy will go into effect starting with this academic year.
“The difference is that now like the vast majority of states in the nation that test will be diagnostic,” said Massachusetts Teachers Association President Max Page. “It will be useful to gather trends to see in general where kids are going using this type of assessment, but it will not have a high stakes impact.”
Page said their union, which is made up of 117,000 public school and college educators, has believed for years the standardized test was a detriment to students’ success and would lead to dropouts and disruptions of the school curriculum…