Massachusetts teachers union supports ballot question to end MCAS graduation requirement
BOSTON - The Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) has unanimously voted to support a ballot question aimed at eliminating the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) exam as a high school graduation requirement.
Teachers say the lengthy exam forces them to prepare their classrooms to take it.
"It was a rough week every time we had to do it," teacher Reva Finley-Call told WBZ-TV. "Working at a school and seeing my students struggle or you get anxious because it's a big thing and you have to pass it to pass school. Even as a student I hated standardized testing,"
But that may no longer be the case.
On Sunday, just weeks before the start of school, the MTA voted to support a November ballot question that could change MCAS requirements.
"We are a union that is committed to fixing a key part of what's wrong in public schools, that is this over-reliance on high stakes testing," said MTA President Max Page. "What students will be judged on is successfully passing the curriculum that shows they have mastered our state standards. Grades in courses."
The ballot measure wouldn't eliminate the test entirely – it would only eliminate the requirement that students must meet a certain score to get a high school diploma.
"We know that the evaluation of educators who do this work on a daily basis, who educate our children, is the best reflection on how students have done in our coursework," said Page.
The MTA board doubled down on access to education voting to support a legislative campaign for the passage of the Cherish Act, which includes increasing state funding in higher public education and increasing pay for faculty and staff.
The MTA will have until November of this year to gather roughly 75,000 signatures. They will then present the ballot measure to the legislature who could approve it right away. If not, the measure will be voted on in November 2024.
