Friends: 

 

On Monday evening the Cambridge City Council voted 8-0 in support of a motion from Councilors
Braude, Davis and Decker to hold a joint City Council/School committee meeting in the Fall to consider the
impact of the MCAS tests on Cambridge students and schools. This was in response to the delivery at the
previous meeting of Suspend MCAS petitions signed by more than 600 Cambridge parents, teachers,
students and concerned citizens, as well as letters to the individual Councilors from a group of more than 20
members of our Cambridge parents and teacher's Education not MCAS group (see below). Thank you all for
your signatures and support.

At the meeting on the 31st Larry Ward highlighted the damaging effects of the tests and the reasons parents and teachers oppose it and Jonathan King read the letter to the Councilors and asked them to recognize and respond to the petitioners.

Councilors Born, Braude, Decker Davis and Reeves all expressed various dimensions of support for our concerns. Mayor Gallucio seemed to recognize that the MCAS issues couldn't be ignored. Councilors Sullivan and Maher expressed support for the MCAS, on the grounds that it identified students doing poorly, and they distanced themselves from the petition position. Councilor Toomey was absent but had tabled the motion at the June 19th meeting. 

The Fall meeting, whenever it is held, will provide a valuable opportunity to mobilize parents, teachers, and students in order to communicate our concerns about the MCAS to the School Committee and City Council, and request that they take action to protect our students and schools from the damaging effects of the coming high stakes testing.