Opt out of MCAS: A petition drive
Parents tell state officials they won’t have their children take the state test in the middle of the pandemic.
By Alain Jehlen
In Boston, Superintendent Brenda Cassellius says the MCAS is “racist” and should be cancelled for this spring.
The Boston City Council also called on the state to cancel MCAS this school year. So did the Citywide Parent Council.
Statewide, there’s a rare consensus among educators that giving the MCAS this spring is not good for children:
• The Mass Association of School Committees
• The Mass Association of School Superintendents
• The Mass Association of School Administrators
• The Mass Teachers Association
• The American Federation of Teachers–MA (The BTU is a member.)
All these organizations say students and educators should use their limited time to recover and learn, not to provide invalid test score data for state officials.
But the Secretary of Education, the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, and the Commissioner of Education, all appointed directly or indirectly by Governor Baker, insist on the Big Test.
Ironically, in 2018, Commissioner Jeff Riley said, “We’ve spent a lot of time on systems and structures, on accountability and test scores. We need to get back to instruction, and deep teaching and learning.”
But now he has made the MCAS a top priority.
No test this year in DC, no test this spring in New Jersey
The federal government has agreed to cancel the tests in Washington, DC and told New Jersey they can give a much reduced test next fall — no test this spring.
They told California that districts where the pandemic makes giving the state test dangerous don’t have to do it.
But in Massachusetts, the test is still on.
No penalty for Mass schools if students don’t take the test
But there’s a big change this year: Test scores will not be used to rate schools, and neither will opting out. Schools will be required to give the test, but nobody has to take it.
(There has never been a legal requirement that parents have their children take the MCAS.)
Before the pandemic, high-school students had to pass the MCAS to get their diplomas. But last year, this year, and next year, seniors can graduate the old-fashioned way — by passing all their required courses. All of which means that if parents don’t want their children to spend their time prepping for and taking the MCAS, they can opt out.
Citizens for Public Schools has launched a petition drive to show state officials and legislators that parents want high-stakes testing to stop.
CPS also has a fact sheet on opting out here.
The petition link is here.
(Note: CPS sponsors this blog.)
