Some final MCAS keywords: equity, inequality, standards, teaching

Now, three decades later, Massachusetts ranks No. 1 in education, thanks in part to our strict graduation requirements. While Latinos continue to face challenges, families from all over the world come here to enroll their students in our world-class system.

Question 2 seeks to eliminate the MCAS graduation requirement. While the test could benefit from an update, eliminating our standard measure of academic proficiency would be detrimental to our students and our state’s competitiveness. Latino students are also likely to be multilingual students, and MCAS provides a diagnostic tool to determine whether these students are being served equitably.

The state also creates accommodation for disabled students and offers math and science sections in Spanish. As The Globe stated in its October 30 editorial“Look at recent history and don’t vote on question 2”, MCAS should be maintained and improved, not eliminated as a graduation requirement. That’s why we vote no.

Rosalina Acosta

Orleans

Amanda Fernandez

Belmont

Acosta is the former Massachusetts Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development. Fernandez is a former member of the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education; she is also the founder and CEO of Latinos for Education, but the views she expresses here are her own.

I am a strong supporter of eliminating MCAS as a graduation requirement. MCAS is promoted as a standardized test, but there is nothing standardized when it comes to the state of schools and the lives of our children. Many schools are underfunded and lack the resources necessary to meet students’ educational and emotional needs. These schools are unable to offer competitive salaries to retain teachers and staff. Many students come to school unprepared to learn because they are hungry, unsheltered, or traumatized by poverty, violence, or the impact of racism.

Question 2 seeks to eliminate a barrier that disproportionately affects students of color, students living in poverty, students with learning disabilities, students who speak a language other than English, and students who attend under-resourced schools.

We should not punish children for the inequalities in our society. Vote “yes” on question 2.

Doug Selwyn

Greenfield

If Question 2 is asked on Election Day, MCAS will no longer meet the state’s high school graduation requirement, but it will still be an important data point for schools and school systems to serve as a valid measure of student performance to adjust classroom practices.

Massachusetts can still be a fully national leader in standards-based rigor MassCore adoption as a graduation requirement every secondary school in the Commonwealth. Designed to prepare graduates for the expectations of 21st century universities and workers, this rigorous program of study would provide a benchmark from which every student could advance.

For some students, perhaps those with learning disabilities who cannot meet the world language requirements no matter how hard they try (I was one of those students; I have dyslexia), MCAS for 10th grade could then serve as an alternative requirement and those who pass it will also receive a high school diploma.

This would provide Massachusetts with a robust set of tools, maximizing the potential of every student beyond a single high-stakes test. This model would allow teachers to shape the scope and sequencing of rigorous learning experiences at the school level – where honorable work is done.

Matthew H. Malone

Roslindale

The author is a former Massachusetts Secretary of Education and former Superintendent of Schools.

A common criticism of MCAS is that it forces teachers to “teach to the test.”

Let me rephrase that statement: it causes teachers to teach material that is tested against a test.

I have to ask: what’s wrong with that?

Sumner Blount

Arlington