Policymakers in Massachusetts have long faced ferocious testing critics wailing that the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System is harming public education and worsening dropout rates. They endured myriad protests organized by opponents who claimed that MCAS was forcing educators to "teach to the test." They winced at the high percentage of kids who failed each year. Then suddenly, there was something to smile about. On Monday, Department of Education officials released the results of the spring 2001 MCAS exams which showed that 82% of 10th graders passed the English test and 75% passed the math test - increases of 16% and 20%, respectively, from the previous year. The results - which would be good news at any time - are all the more pleasing because high school students must now pass these sections of the MCAS to graduate. (Last year's 10th graders are the first class to face the new requirement; students who fail one or more sections are given four more tries to pass, with remediation to help them do so.) Now that it has teeth, the MCAS is even better poised to promote reform and boost student achievement. Take that, testing critics!
"Spring 2001 MCAS Tests: Summary of State Results," Massachusetts Department of Education, October 2001.
"Dramatic Improvement in MCAS Scores," by Ed Hayward, Boston Herald, October 16, 2001.