I didn’t grow up in Massachusetts, so when I began tutoring elementary and high school students after I moved here three years ago, I didn’t understand why the number one thing on their mind was the MCAS test.
The MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System) tests are so important to these students because not only do they take these tests every year from third to eighth grade, the high school level tests actually determine whether or not students are allowed to graduate. There is controversy surrounding these and many other standardized tests; there is always the fear that when education is based solely on numbers, teachers begin “teaching to the test,” and students lose out on educational opportunities that fall outside the realm of the exam (art, music, etc.). On the other side, however, is the fact that there needs to be a system in place to ensure that students are learning the fundamentals of education: reading, writing, and arithmetic. And, in the case of the MCAS, science and technology too.
So when the issue of scrapping the MCAS tests was raised recently by state education officials, I was intrigued. If any changes are made, it doesn’t look like they’ll be substantial. Massachusetts is considering working with about a dozen other states to create a test that represents a “national standard,” as pushed by the Obama administration. So the tests will still be there, they may just be slightly altered. This doesn’t alleviate concerns about the tests, but it would ensure that all students (at least in these twelve states) are held at equal standards–just as long as those standards are as high as or higher than the ones at which Massachusetts students are currently held.
