Fall River School Committee takes a stand against MCAS testing. Here's what happens next.
FALL RIVER — The School Committee took a stand on Monday night against the use of the MCAS standardized test as a high school graduation requirement.
Representatives from the Fall River Educators Association, the city teacher’s union, asked the board for a resolution to support the Thrive Act, a bill that would reform the MCAS in multiple ways — or, if it fails in the Legislature, to support putting it before voters this fall as a ballot question.
Teachers’ unions have long opposed the standardized tests on the grounds that they force teachers to “teach to a test” rather than educate students, they’re inequitable to all kinds of learners, they’re poor indicators of educational success, among other reasons.
The board voted 6-1 to support ending MCAS. School Committee member Kevin Aguiar was the lone dissenter.
“We become partners in this work of getting it passed, and in getting a ballot initiative passed,” said FREA President Keith Michon.
Eliminate the MCAS? Massachusetts educators argue students be better off without graduation requirement
What is the MCAS?
The Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System was first devised as part of a 1993 education reform law. The first exams were given in 1998; passing the MCAS has been a requirement for high school graduation since 2003.
Students from Grade 3 through high school are tested. To graduate high school, students in 10th grade must pass MCAS exams in English language arts and math, along with a high school science and technology/engineering exam.
Schools or districts that chronically underperform in the MCAS can be placed in receivership by the state; this replaces the authority of the local School Committee and the superintendent.
Massachusetts is one of eight states nationwide that have a standardized test for high school graduation.
“I don’t feel like that’s a group I feel like being a part of,” said School Committee member Shelli Pereira. “One of which is Florida. I don’t need to mimic Florida’s educational system.”
What is the Thrive Act?
House Bill H.495 and Senate Bill S.246 would essentially do three things:
End the MCAS graduation requirement
End the ability of the state to put schools and districts in receivership
Create a commission to devise a new way to assess schools that values student growth over achievement
Where they stand: School Committee candidates talk graduation rates, MCAS and more. Here's what they said.
What are the pros of ending MCAS?
Representatives from FREA told the school board that the MCAS increases student anxiety, lowers their self-esteem, and disengages them from learning. Michon also called the idea of state taking authority over a local school system “undemocratic.”
Jenna Viera, a special education team chair at B.M.C. Durfee High School and Resiliency Preparatory Academy, cited statistics showing that special education students and multiple-language learners are unfairly affected by the standardized test.
“This data is not the result of apathetic students or unskilled teachers," she said. “High-stakes standardized tests are not designed with our students in mind.”
School Committee member Thomas Khoury noted the inequity, speaking passionately from the dais.
“MCAS has failed the urban districts throughout the commonwealth," he said. “It placed our teachers’ backs against the wall in the classroom. ... We are trying to address, in the best way possible, equity in the classroom and happiness amongst our teaching ranks.”
School Committee member Sara Rodrigues agreed, saying that reforming the MCAS “isn’t about lowering expectations, it’s about clarifying what our kids can do and what they know. Standardized testing caters to one type of learner.”
What are the cons to ending MCAS?
Aguiar, a longtime School Committee member and principal at Westport Elementary School, was the only board member to support MCAS.
“There’s a reason why the state has this. They spend a lot of money here and they want this to be a requirement," Aguiar said. “My opinion is we should keep it because it’s holding a high standard for all kids to graduate.”
He said that the educational reform act was implemented because “we were graduating too many students that can’t read, they can’t write, and they can’t compute when they’re done.”
What does the Fall River superintendent think about MCAS?
Superintendent Maria Pontes reminded the board that the Thrive Act would not eliminate MCAS – only the requirement for graduation.
She agreed that it wasn’t fair that students could attend school all year, earn good grades, and receive a good education “and still get a certificate at the end because they weren’t able to pass the test.”
"That test is a one-size fits all with some accommodations, but I do think that MCAS should be one indicator, not the end-all, be-all," she said.
From 2022: The state raised the MCAS graduation requirements. Here's what that means for Fall River.
What happens next for the Thrive Act?
With Monday’s vote, the school board has indicated its support for the Thrive Act.
House Bill H.495 and Senate Bill S.246 have currently been referred to the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Education.
Michon said the Legislature has until the end of April to approve it, suggest a substitute version, or take no action. In the meantime, he said, over 130,000 signatures have been collected.
“If no action is taken, a mere 12,500 signatures will need to certify by July to assure a place on the ballot in the fall," Michon said.
Dan Medeiros can be reached at dmedeiros@heraldnews.com. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News today.
This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Fall River school board votes to support Thrive Act, oppose MCAS tests
