Teachers unions and some lawmakers have pushed Massachusetts to scrap a standardized testing requirement in a pandemic-impacted school year, but the state and some advocacy groups still want public schools to administer tests this year.
Preparing for and administering the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) exam, opponents fear, would take away learning time that is especially scarce due to the pandemic. Moreover, some question the ability of standardized testing to measure student performance, since test results are often shown to correlate strongly with race and family income, among other social factors.
MCAS supporters, however, claim the difficult year makes the test particularly important for measuring whether students have fallen behind. Information gathered from testing, they say, would help parents see how their children are doing and allow the state to identify where additional resources might be needed.
MCAS needed to evaluate learning loss during COVID pandemic, Massachusetts education officials say
Updated Jan 05, 2021;
Education officials in Massachusetts say Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System testing is necessary during the pandemic to analyze learning loss and growing achievement gaps.
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education on Tuesday announced that this year’s MCAS would have flexibilities for districts, including a shorter test for students in grades 3-8 and a modified competency determination for the class of 2021. Additionally, DESE Commissioner Jeffrey Riley will not name any new schools or districts as underperforming or chronically underperforming.
“Even though the results from this year’s tests will not be used to declare any school or district as underperforming, they will provide critical diagnostic information for educators, parents, schools and districts,” Massachusetts Secretary of Education James Peyser said in a phone intervi
New rules for live teaching meant to limit student isolation
By Katie Lannan
State House News Service
New regulations adopted Tuesday after fraught discussion about student mental health and the concerns of teachers on the ground will set minimum requirements for how much live instruction Massachusetts schools must provide if they are still conducting at least some remote teaching.
Described by Elementary and Secondary Commissioner Jeffrey Riley as an urgent step towards addressing the isolation and disconnection casued by the COVID-19 pandemic that are driving a youth mental health crisis, the changes were adopted on a 7-4 vote during a meeting where teachers union representatives presented a declaration of no-confidence in Riley that had been signed by more than 100 locals.