Information on the MCAS BILLS FILED IN THE STATE LEGISLATURE
2003-2004
Senate Bills
1. Creem, Cynthia (D. Newton) - An Act to Require a Comprehensive Assessment System for Students, Schools and Districts - S257
This legislation prohibits the use of MCAS as a sole competency determination and ensures that multiple means of assessments that include state and local standards are set. The legislation also establishes an Office of School Fiscal Auditing and Governance Oversight to ensure that our schools are financially sound and requires that the new standards, Curriculum Frameworks, are reviewed by professional associations.
2. Creem, Cynthia (D Newton) - Supporting the Local Determination of Educational Competency and multiple forms of academic assessment - S 253
This legislation provides that under no circumstances could the results of a single means of assessment or test be used as a condition of high school graduation, and that determinations of educational competency should be based on a number of criteria as determined by the local school district. It acknowledges that students whose performance may be difficult to assess includes students with special needs, students enrolled in a vocational education program and students with limited English proficiency.
3. Fargo, Susan (D Lincoln) - An Act Requiring the Department of Education to Issue an Annual report Relative to the Costs of Administering the MCAS EXAM –S272
This legislation would instruct the Department of Education to collect data on administration and preparation costs for the MCAS exam from each school system and publish a report of this data on a yearly basis.
4. Fargo, Susan (D Lincoln) - An Act Relative to Competency Determination for Children with Special Needs, Children of Limited English Speaking Ability and Students in Vocational Education Programs – S260
This legislation postpones the MCAS competency determination as a high school graduation requirement for Special Education students, students whose primary language is not English and Vocational Education students. MCAS results have shown that students in these three categories have the highest rate of failure this legislation addresses this discrepancy.
- Havern, Robert (D Arlington) An Act Suspending the Use of the MCAS Test as a Graduation Requirement – S268
This legislation would delay the graduation requirement until certain matters have been acted upon by the Board of Education through regulation, including the length of the test, its impact on special, vocational and bilingual students, and the development of additional assessment instruments. Any regulation promulgated by the board of Education convening said re-imposition of the graduation requirement shall not be effective until it has been enacted by the legislature and approved by the governor.
6. Joyce, Brian (D Milton) - An Act Exempting Certain Students From MCAS Graduation Requirements – S272
This legislation instructs that each school district may determine the graduation requirement for a student with a disability and a student requiring special education. This may include an MCAS exam achievement level set by the school district. If the school district determines that it is in the best interest of the child, a child with a disability and a child requiring sped could be exempt, from the MCAS.
7. Magnani, David (D Framingham) - An Act Providing That No Child Be Denied The Opportunity to Earn A High School Diploma - S290
Requires that the DOE offer MCAS preparation and remediation at no cost until the student either passes the test or chooses to no longer attempt to pass the test.
8. Resor, Pamela (D Acton) - An Act Relative To Student Tutors For The MCAS - S317
Students with senior year GPA's of 3.0 or above, who commit to tutoring other students in preparation for the MCAS for three hours per week for one year, would be awarded a $500 tuition credit to attend a public state college or university.
9. Resor, Pamela (D Acton) - An Act Prohibiting The Use of MCAS Exams In Awarding High School Diplomas And Providing Scholarships For Certain Students - S319
Prohibits the DOE from setting a minimum MCAS score as a graduation requirement. Instead, allows the establishment of an honors diploma based on MCAS performance. Students who receive an honors diploma would be awarded a $500 scholarship per semester if they attend the University of Massachusetts.
10. Tolman, Steven (D Brighton) - An Act Relative to High School Graduation Requirements - S331
Creates a more comprehensive assessment for determining whether a special education student has fulfilled the requirements necessary for graduation.
11. Tolman, Steven (D Brighton) - An Act Relative to Special Education and MCAS – S334
Suspends use of MCAS as a graduation requirement until statistics show that the test does not have a disparate act on special education students.
House Bills
1. Rep. Daniel Bosley (D-North Adams)- An Act to Provide for Use of Competency Determination for Diagnostic Purposes – H.686
House 686 eliminates the competency determination as a requirement for graduation from high school or receipt of a certificate of occupational proficiency. Permits the competency determination to be used only for diagnostic purposes.
2. Rep. Ruth Balser (D-Newton) - An Act to Prohibit the Use of MCAS for High School
Graduation – HD3719
This legislation repeals the use of MCAS as a graduation requirement.
3. Rep. Gale Candaras (D-Wilbraham) An Act Relative to the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System –HD1312
This legislation repeals the MCAS graduation requirement and removes the MCAS as a requirement for a certificate of occupational proficiency. It also directs the Department of Education to investigate and study the questions used in MCAS to determine if they are phrased in a manner that is disadvantageous to diversity students. The Department shall also study the question of reinstating the graduation requirement and file their recommendation with the Joint Committee on Education by December 2003.
4. Rep. Antonio Cabral (D-New Bedford) - An Act Relative to Graduation Requirements – HD2641
House 2641 instructs the Governor to appoint a special commission to analyze graduation requirements for all Massachusetts public school students. The commission shall include one individual nominated by each of the following: Massachusetts Department of Education; Chairperson of the Massachusetts Board of Education or self; Massachusetts Association of School Committees; Massachusetts Secondary Schools Administrators’ Association, Inc.; Massachusetts AFL-CIO; Massachusetts Teachers Association; Massachusetts Federation of Teachers. The commission shall also include one child and one parent of a child attending a Massachusetts public school, to be appointed by the Massachusetts Board of Education.
The commission shall issue a report and file legislation containing recommended graduation requirements based on students’ results on the MCAS, community service involvement, classroom grades, and any other factors determined by the commission. These requirements will set standards for special education, vocational-technical education and regular education students.
Failure to meet any one component of the graduation requirements shall not prevent a student from graduating high school. This bill eliminates the MCAS graduation requirement in any school system until students are able to complete their entire public school education under the curriculum frameworks established in the Education Reform law of 1993.
5. Rep. Hynes (D-Marshfield) - An Act to Petition for a Competency Determination – H.875
This legislation allows high school seniors who have not passed MCAS to petition their school for a determination of qualification to graduate. A petitioning student’s request shall be examined by a panel to include: the student’s teacher and department chair in the failed academic subject; a guidance counselor; and if applicable, an appropriate special needs faculty member. The panel shall conduct an objective evaluation of the student’s abilities and performance upon reviewing the student’s portfolio of academic work for all of high school, including tests and writing assignments to determine if the student is qualified to graduate.
6. Rep. Hynes (D-Marshfield) - An Act Relative to the Availability of MCAS Results – H.874
This legislation requires diagnostic assessments of tenth grade students, which shall be made available to the student and his/her school by September 1 of the year the exam was taken.
7. Rep. Hynes (D-Marshfield) - An Act Relative to Accommodations for Special Needs Students Taking the MCAS Examination – H.876
Requires that special needs students be afforded the same accommodations while taking the MCAS as they require in the classroom throughout the year.
8. Rep. Kevin Honan (D-Boston) - An Act to Direct the Department of Education to Provide Timely MCAS Results to School Districts – H.118
The Department of Education shall provide school districts with hard copy and electronic results of MCAS tests given in May no later than August 31st. Failure to meet this deadline will require a special meeting with the Board of Education, during which the Department will report its reasons for the delay.
Any school district that receives May scores after August 31st will be awarded additional staff and money by the Department of Education to cover the costs of analyzing individual scores and providing information to teachers regarding improving instruction and preparing a student success plan. Any school district receiving late scores will not be held accountable for failure to improve MCAS scores for the coming year.
9. Rep. Kevin Honan (D-Boston) - An Act to Honor Parent Choice Concerning MCAS Testing and to Provide Incentives to Students to Pass the MCAS Test – H.117
H.117 allows parents to request that the principal of their child’s school exempt their child from taking the MCAS test. Students who do not take the MCAS test will not be denied a high school diploma if they meet all other requirements as determined by the local school district.
Students who meet the local school district’s requirements and do pass the MCAS test will be awarded a “Commonwealth Diploma”, which automatically admits them to the community college of their choice with a 20% tuition scholarship in the first year. School districts must report annually to the Department of Education the number of MCAS exemptions, and those schools with over 25% of students exempt in each grade must explain the reason and submit a plan to increase the number of students taking the test.
School districts that fail to comply with reporting requirements will be denied state aid until they do so. School districts that exceed the 75% mark for any given year will receive an increase in state aid equal to the number of additional percentage points of students taking the MCAS test.
10. Lida Harkins (D-Needham) - An Act Relating to the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System – Rep. HD 3580
This legislation removes the foreign language requirement from the MCAS test.
11. Rep. Geoff Hall (D-Westford) -An Act Relative to Changes to the Massachusetts
Comprehensive Assessment System Exam – HD2665
This legislation requires the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to reimburse each public school district for any additional costs incurred by changes in the curriculum frameworks as a result of the MCAS exam. School districts shall be reimbursed for the purchase of new textbooks; instructional support materials; curriculum and program development; and professional training of teachers, administrators and support personnel. The Department and Board of Educations must inform school districts of any changes to curriculum frameworks or MCAS content at least three years prior to their institution.
12. Rep. Anne Paulsen (D-Belmont) - An Act Relative to Alternative Learning Style Assessments – HD1519
This legislation allows school committees to administer alternative learning style assessments to those students who do not demonstrate competency on state assessments. School committees shall have the authority to grant Local Diplomas to students who fulfill the graduation standard based on alternative assessments but do not demonstrate competency on state assessments.
13. Rep. Frank Smizik (D Brookline) - An Act Concerning the Rights of Students, Teachers and Legal Guardians to Diagnostic Use of MCAS Test Scores and to the MCAS Appeals Process – HD3147
This legislation makes available to parents, guardians and teachers test questions, answer booklets and scores within three months of the test’s administration and prior to their public disclosure. It requires that parents/guardians be provided with a written notification of the procedures for Score Appeals and Performance Appeals as part of the Guide to the MCAS Parent/Guardian Report. The legislation also permits any student, parent/guardian or superintendent of a school to file a score or performance appeal.
14. Rep. Theodore Speliotis (D-Danvers) -An Act Relative to the Massachusetts Comprehensive System Tests - HD1536
This legislation repeals the MCAS graduation requirement for students in special education and vocational programs.
15. Rep. Benjamin Swan (D-Springfield) - An Act to Eliminate the Use of MCAS for High School Graduation – H1453
This legislation repeals the use of MCAS as a graduation requirement.
16. Alice Wolf (D-Cambridge) - An Act to Postpone the High School Graduation Requirement and to Define Multiple Assessments (filed on behalf of the Youth Voice of America) –- HD 1332
The Youth Voice of America, a group comprised of local chapters of high school students around the state, asked Rep. Wolf to file this bill, which suspends the use of MCAS as a graduation requirement and calls for a portfolio assessment method to determine competency for graduation.
17. Rep. Alice Wolf (D-Cambridge) - An Act Suspending the Use of the MCAS Test as a Graduation Requirement – HD1333
Responding to the unfairness of the one-size-fits-all, high stakes MCAS test, this bill suspends the use of the MCAS test as a graduation requirement until the Board of Education has addressed the test’s impact on special, vocational, and bilingual students, the length of the test, and developed additional assessment instruments.
