Citizens for Public Schools, other organizations ask Massachusetts education officials to obtain waiver to suspend MCAS
Updated Feb 17, 2021;
More than a dozen organizations on Wednesday have sent a letter to Massachusetts education officials and to legislators, urging the state to obtain a federal waiver from the U.S. Department of Education and suspend spring Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System tests.
“We agree with business groups and others who oppose using MCAS results for high-stakes and accountability purposes, but we are absolutely convinced that MCAS testing itself should be suspended,” reads the letter. “Standardized tests have never been an equitable measure of student learning, but in a time of pandemic cannot possibly measure student learning with any validity. Testing will only mean that all students will lose precious learning time, while, disproportionally, Black, Latinx, low-income, English learners and special education students will fall even fu