Subject: MCAS in the news (3/18 - 3/25)
Date: Sun, 25 Mar 2001 11:44:45 -0500
Anne Wheelock

This week: The trend toward remediation continues, at the expense, perhaps, of more diverse
learning opportunities? Students protest. 
Policy-makers talk about a change in the 4th grade English
Language Arts test. And John Hancock Financial Services s sending Boston schools 100 volunteers
(spurred by the promise of $1,000 each for the charity of their choice) to tutor 4th graders in math
one day a week. 
[I'm still looking for news of the growing number of Democratic Town Committees,
most recently in East Bridgewater, that are formally opposing the MCAS graduation requirement.]


Boston Sunday Globe (Metor Section), 3/25: Student activists press MCAS fight
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/084/metro/Student_activists_press_MCAS_fight+.shtml

Wearing anti-MCAS buttons, dozens of students from across the state yesterday vowed to
pressure school and political leaders to abandon the controversial high-stakes test. 
''I am not opposed to holding students to high standards,'' said Jeremy Taylor, an 11th-grader at
Arlington High School and a member of Student Coalition for Alternatives to MCAS, the group that
organized yesterday's forum at Roxbury Community College. ''But the MCAS is not the answer.'' ...
.... Stanley Pollack, executive director of Teen Voices, a Boston youth-organizing group, said the
exam has demonstrated the inequities that exist across race and class lines in the state's school
districts. 
''The MCAS is killing our kids in the inner city,'' Pollack said. ''It's crushing them every day.'' 
Pollack and hundreds of Boston students are planning to host a conference in May to examine the
issue. They have invited elected officials to attend and have challenged supporters of the exam to take the test themselves....
.... Samantha Johnson, a student at Boston Latin School, said she is certain that the MCAS will not be able to effectively measure her abilities as a creative writer. 
''The MCAS cannot test me,'' said Johnson, who wants to be a social worker. ''We can't let it
undermine us.''....
.... Quiana Scott-Ferguson, a senior at Fenway High School, said that she wants to change the
graduation requirement in time for her two sisters, who are now in middle school. 
''A lot of students are not being heard,'' Scott-Ferguson said. ''We're going to change that.''


Boston Sunday Globe (West Weekly), 3/25: Tough choices in the [Newton] classroom
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/084/west/Tough_choices_in_the_classroom+.shtml

Among the programs being cut in next year's proposed budget for Newton's public schools is
''Understanding Our Differences,'' an elementary school program that teaches children acceptance of
people with disabilities. 
The program is just one of several, including some music and language classes, being eliminated in
the budget proposed to the School Committee by Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Young....
.... [Young] said his priority in the lower grades is to focus on the core curriculum and to maintain
favorable class sizes, and that reductions will be necessary in some programs. 
In the 15 elementary schools, where enrollment is expected to decrease by 61 students, Young
proposed reducing art, music, and instrumental music. His plan also calls for removing world
languages from all but grade 5, and eliminating Understanding Our Differences, Drug Abuse
Resistance Education (DARE), and Child Assault Prevention Program (CAPP)....
.... According to Kathryn Denney, music teacher at Burr School, changes in the music program are
still being determined. Music programs that may see reductions are third-grade recorder, fourth-grade
chorus, and chorus ensembles held before and after school....
... In the four middle schools, with an expected enrollment increase of 51 students, Young
recommended increasing class size slightly and possibly reducing programs in fine and applied arts.
Young proposed cutting about 17 teaching and aide positions in the high schools, and about 11 in
the middle schools.....
.... Jennifer Stone, parent coordinator of Understanding Our Differences at Peirce School, said, ''You
have to teach attitude and combat prejudice in the classroom when kids are young, especially in a
school district that prides itself on being active anti-racist, anti-discriminatory, and actively
inclusive.''....
.... Anne Baseggio, world language teacher at Zervas and Angier schools, said: ''My main
disappointment is that this is where language needs to be taught. Young kids are so quick at picking
up the language.'' ...
.... Young's budget also called for putting an additional $430,000 into MCAS remediation for children
at risk of failing. 
Carolyn Wyatt, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, said that the high schools
are adding programs in order to be proactive with children who have been identified as being likely to
fail the MCAS. 
An after-school tutorial program, a summer success program, and classes in ''power English'' and
math concepts and skills will be added. Kiki Gross, co-president of the PTO at Newton North, said
she thinks that the superintendent is being mindful of what's important, but it's unfortunate that some of
the less popular electives in the high schools will go away. 
''Newton schools should not be like this,'' she said.


Boston Sunday Globe, 3/25: Music champions
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/084/learning/Music_champions+.shtml

..... Part of the group's mission is to raise public awareness that the arts are academic. Particularly
with music, the connection with academic performance is well documented. College-bound seniors
with school music experience scored on average nearly 100 points higher on the SATs than students
without musical training, according to the Educational Testing Service....
.....Despite the mounting evidence of music's position as a cornerstone in both academic and social
development, school music programs are again facing threats. 
''The obsession with MCAS scores has with it the danger to whittle away the time alloted for
music education,'' said Keroack. ''And, that is simply backwards. If you want MCAS scores
to improve, double the music instruction. That will both pay off in the tests and sound great.''


Boston Sunday Globe (Learning Section), 3/25: Revisiting MCAS
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/084/learning/Catholic_schools_draw_from_all_faiths+.shtml

...... This year's fourth-graders may get a break - of sorts - on the English Language Arts section of
the MCAS. That portion of the test has been criticized for being so tough that last year only three
students scored in the top two tiers of the ''advanced'' category while 1,776 students earned similar
scores in math and 221 in science and technology. 
Now, the state Department of Education says it will convene a group of third-, fourth-, and
fifth-grade teachers this summer to sift through test results and decide whether to recalibrate test
standards. 
The fact that only 20 percent of students statewide scored in the ''proficient'' or ''advanced''
categories suggests a problem with how high student scores must be to make the top categories, said
Jeffrey Nellhaus, associate commissioner for student assessment. 
''I'm not saying it should be 50 or 60 percent, but I think we may have set the standard too
high,'' he said. 
Any changes made to the standard this summer could impact the scoring of tests students take
this spring, Nellhaus said. 
It doesn't mean questions on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System exam will
be easier (although they were made easier after the test's first year), but students will be able to get
more answers wrong and still earn a top score.


Springfield Union News, 3/25: Saturdays abuzz with MCAS prep
http://www.masslive.com/newsindex/hampfrank/index.ssf?/news/pstories/ae325mca.html

For a day-in-the-life snapshot of the MCAS exams, consider some of yesterday's events. 
At 8:30 a.m., Chicopee students gathered for another installment of a three-hour Saturday morning
"March Madness" test tutorial, which included aromatherapy and a pep talk by ballplayers. 
At 10 a.m., a tutorial began at Progressive Community Chapel in Springfield as part of the city's
faith-based program to prepare students for the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System
tests. 
By 5 p.m., a statewide student group opposed to the exams wrapped up a "shred-in" in Roxbury
where participants fed their test scores to the shredders....
.... Funded by state grants for MCAS tutorials, the Saturday program can handle 75 students from
Chicopee's three high schools. Less than a third of that number showed up yesterday, creating a
one-to-one ratio of tutors to students....
.... Students get free bus rides and breakfast for the sessions, where they spend two hours on
test-taking strategies in English and math. A third rotation is spent on general studying tips, including
whether lemon-scented oils improve memory retention. 
The district yesterday invited members of a professional basketball team, Springfield Slamm, to
encourage students to keep at it....
..... In Springfield, four sophomores headed to Progressive Community Chapel on State Street to
tackle math problems. 
"It's something I want to do," said Javaris E. Foster, who also attends after-school tutorials at his
school, Bridge Academy. 
Foster and three other sophomores huddled around a table where Kevin McCaskill, assistant
principal at Forest Park Middle School, broke down a word problem into manageable parts. 
McCaskill said his district has been "very proactive" in its MCAS programs, but said there is a
place for faith-based efforts such as this one. "With faith-based organizations, you can have those
small numbers, you can really do some heavy-duty teaching," he said.....
..... Across the state at Roxbury Community College, the Student Coalition for Alternatives to MCAS
held a forum yesterday afternoon that included student speakers, live hip hop music and the shredding
of MCAS score reports. 
Newton senior Sara Z. Cullinane, an organizer, said the state should ensure that all schools have
the same resources rather than focus on MCAS tutorials...... 


Daily Hampshire Gazette, 3/24: [Amherst] schools ready for spring MCAS
http://www.gazettenet.com/03242001/schools/36441.htm

After-school tutoring, summer school and summer curriculum work will augment classroom
preparation for the spring MCAS tests at Amherst Regional High School....
.... There are 32 students involved in a pilot after-school tutoring program, Wendy Kohler, director of
secondary curriculum, told the Amherst-Pelham Regional School Committee last week. Invitations
were sent to 80 sophomores but some declined, citing after-school jobs, Kohler said....
.... This year, MCAS testing will be expanded to all students in grades 3 through 10, not just grades
4, 8 and 10 as in the past....
... School Committee Chairwoman Barbara Love said many students need to learn how to take
standardized tests and lauded faculty and administrators for providing tutoring. 
Other members worried whether an emphasis on test-taking strategies might outweigh teaching of
essential skills....
.... Additional help will be offered to special education and ESL students, who make up more than 50
percent of those failing MCAS in the Amherst schools, Kohler added. 
The after-school program is funded with a $51,000 state grant specifically for MCAS preparation.
Most of the state money will underwrite free MCAS classes in this year's summer school....
.... Faculty are coordinating other efforts to improve Amherst's scores, [Curriculum director Wendy]
Kohler said. Realizing that Amherst students do poorly on "open response" or essay questions,
teachers are emphasizing good writing in all classes, she said. A poster outlining steps in essay-writing
has also been made into a bookmark to be given to every student.....


Boston Globe, 3/23: Hancock employees to tutor math students 
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/082/metro/Hancock_employees_to_tutor_math_students%2b.shtl


Boston public schools' new $4 million math program got a boost yesterday from John Hancock
Financial Services, which will provide 100 employees to tutor math in city schools. 
Volunteers in Operation Math Corps also will get $1,000 each from John Hancock to donate to
the nonprofit group of their choice, officials said. The tutors will spend one hour a week with
fourth-graders in six elementary schools. 
In a few weeks, fourth-graders will take the math portion of the Massachusetts Comprehensive
Assessment System exam..... 
This story ran on page 6 of the Boston Globe on 3/23/2001. 


Springfield Union News, 3/22: MCAS change likely, legislator tells board 
http://www.masslive.com/newsindex/metrowest/index.ssf?/news/pstories/ws322mca.html
 
WEST SPRINGFIELD — State Representative Stephen J. Buoniconti told the School Committee
yesterday that changes in the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System exams are expected
this year. 
The committee met with Buoniconti and Wilfredo Rivera, a representative from state Sen. Linda J.
Melconian's office, to discuss concerns related to the testing system. 
"I just don't think that (the test) is going to be the same way as it is now. That's the one thing I feel
sure about," Buoniconti said. 
The School Committee in December passed a resolution opposing the high-stakes nature of the
test. The resolution was sponsored by Joseph Foresi, Jr., who said the test is unfair to vocational
students. School Committee members said they believe it is the responsibility of the district, not the
state, to set graduation requirements.... 
.... Several bills propose a two-tiered diploma system, while others would leave graduation
requirements to the discretion of local school committees. 
School Committee members seemed yesterday to support a two-tiered diploma system that
would reward students for passing the exam though not penalize those who fail. 
"I don't think this test should be used at all to punish students who don't pass it and relegate them
to low-paying jobs," said Thomas F. O'Connor, a West Springfield High School sophomore who sits
on a subcommittee studying alternatives to the graduation requirement. ....


Springfield Union News, 3/22: Board member seeking ruling on ethics issue 
http://www.masslive.com/newsindex/springfield/index.ssf?/news/pstories/se322etk.html

Urban League of Springfield President Henry M. Thomas III will seek a state Ethics Commission
ruling on whether his involvement with a local charter school will pose any conflicts in his new role as a
member of the state Board of Education. 
Thomas said yesterday that he will abstain in his state role from any votes that relate directly with
New Leadership Charter School, which he helped create and for which he currently serves as
chairman of the board. 
But Thomas wants to be able to weigh in as a state official on charter school matters, not
affecting New Leadership. 
He is a supporter of the portion of the state Education Reform Act that enables private groups to
run public schools. .... 
..... Thomas will attend his first meeting as a board member on Tuesaday. He said he has yet to be
sworn in. .... 
.... Ethics Commission spokesman Carol Carson said any state, municipal or county employee or
official facing a potential conflict of interest is free to seek an opinion. But such requests and the
subsequent rulings are confidential. However, they may be released publicly by those who requested 
them. 
If Thomas asks for a verbal opinion, he can speak with a commission lawyer and get his answers
immediately. Written opinions take between two and four weeks. 
Thomas said while he supports charter schools and the Massachusetts Comprehensive
Assessment System tests, he does not believe that was the basis of his appointment to the
nine-member state board..... 
... Conflict-of-interest issues relating to charter schools have been raised in the past. 
In a 1997 written ruling, School Committee member Beth A. Conway was allowed to keep her
seat on the board of directors of Springfield's Sabis International Charter School, though she was told
not to discuss or vote on matters related to the school. Conway is no longer on that board, but is
employed as the office manager at Sabis.


Springfield Union News, 3/21: Alternative MCAS yardstick shaped for special ed pupils 
http://www.masslive.com/newsindex/hampfrank/index.ssf?/news/pstories/ae321mca.html

Turning to the overhead projector, Pam M. Green put up a transparency of a math worksheet
completed by one of her former special education students, then played a videotape of him working
through a subtraction problem. 
With a room full of teachers looking on, Green explained that the worksheet and the tape are
entries in a portfolio that will be submitted to the state as evidence of the sixth-grader's progress.... 
.... This year, for the first time, students with significant impairments who cannot take the regular
paper-and-pencil version of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System tests — even
with accommodations — must take the alternate assessment. The videotape is one method that may
be 
used to show that students have acquired necessary skills.... 
.... While about half a million students between grades 3 and 10 will sit for the regular exams beginning
next month, an estimated 5,000 will be evaluated through this new method.... 
.... Daniel J. Wiener of the state education department said one the messages he tries to get across to
teachers struggling with portfolios is to work slowly and calmly through this introductory phase. "It
won't be perfect the first year," he said..... 
.... [Workshop participant Judy Sampson, a teacher with the Southern Worcester County Educational
Collaborative] said she sometimes questions the relevance of the portfolio expectations to her
students, who must work on attaining skills that allow them to live independently. Guidelines may 
call for reading maps, she said, noting, "My kids don't even know their address." 
Sampson said she knows of parents who are fighting the idea of the alternate assessment and
refuse to have their children videotaped, which could stymie teachers trying to put together portfolios
due at the state education department by May 4. 
Federal rules mandate that states offer alternative forms of statewide tests for students unable to
take the general version. 


Community News, 3/21: Threat of MCAS failure has students learning overtime [in Easton]
http://www.townonline.com/neponset/easton/07518350.htm

.... [F]or about 60 Easton students attending Easton’s MCAS Academy on Wednesday and
Saturday, the threat of failing the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System test this spring is
enough to get them back in the classroom.
" For the most part attendance has been good, " said Ellen Russell, a science teacher at Oliver
Ames High School who is coordinating the MCAS Academy sessions for the high school. " We are
trying to make it as fun as it can be. " 
The MCAS Academy is in its second year in Easton. The program was started to provide students
with extra assistance in preparing for the MCAS....
.... Easton’s students are ranked 36th in the state last year in district wide MCAS scores. Problem
areas revealed by that test were in the English language arts portion of the test for Easton’s fourth
grade students and in the mathematics section of the test for Easton’s 10th graders. Over 60 percent
of Easton’s fourth grade students scored a Needs Improvement or worse on the English portion
on the test and in the math portion of the exam, 20 percent of Easton’s 10th graders scored a Needs
Improvement and 29 percent failed.....
..... Jennifer Eccleston, who is teaching a section of the MCAS Academy to a small group of about
seven students, said last week that problems she is seeing in her academy students may be a result of
a lack in curriculum alignment all of the way through their schooling.....
..... Sitting through Eccleston’s class on Saturday, three of her seven students showed up for the 10
a.m. to noon session.
Eccleston spent time with each student individually and with the class as a whole going over
algebra, square roots, fractions, decimals and percentages, as well as problem solving questions that
have appeared on the MCAS before.
As coordinator of the academy for the high school, Russell said she is trying to draw students
back to the classes each week by offering raffle tickets for attendance that are awarded with gift
certificates to winners, and by breaking up the sessions with breaks and refreshments.
Russell said the sessions will continue right up to the week before the MCAS test begins.


Springfield Union News, 3/2l: 5 councilors, union officials back MCAS exemption in Springfield 
http://www.masslive.com/newsindex/springfield/index.ssf?/news/pstories/se321mce.html 

Five city councilors and three union officials pledged their unwavering support yesterday for a
home-rule bill that would exempt Springfield students until the year 2006 from having to pass a state 
assessment test as a condition of high school graduation..... 
.... [City Councilor Bud] Williams was joined yesterday by Councilors William T. Foley Jr., Daniel D.
Kelly, Timothy J. Rooke and Brian A. Santaniello in saying they stand ready to testify on behalf of the
bill. All five voted for the bill, saying that the MCAS test is flawed and that it would be unfair to deny
someone a diploma based on a single, flawed test.... 
.... Richard T. Courtney, vice president of the United Food and Commercial 
Workers Union Local 1459, Timothy T. Collins, president of the Springfield 
Education Association, and Richard M. Brown, president of the Pioneer Valley Central Labor
Council, AFL-CIO, pledged their union support.... 
.... Councilor Brian A. Santaniello challenged Puppolo and other opponents of Albano's bill to take
the MCAS test themselves if they support it as a graduation requirement. Puppolo, in response, said
he saw no point in councilors taking the test but invited Santaniello to do so, "and we'll go from there."
.... 


Boston Globe, 3/20: 3rd graders, parents gird for MCAS tests
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/079/metro/3d_graders_parents_gird_for_MCAS_tests-.shtml

..... Schools have prepared for the test since the fall, but as it draws nearer, educators are getting their younger students psychologically ready for a controversial exam that has grabbed headlines and
sparked sign-waving protests and anti-MCAS petition drives. 
''How do you prepare them, make them know that the test is serious, but not make them upset
and nervous? It's a tough issue,'' said Patricia Eagan, interim assistant principal at Lawrence
Elementary School in Holyoke, where teachers are concentrating on test-taking techniques....
.... This spring, state officials are giving the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System exam - previously just administered to students in grades 4, 8, and 10 - to more students. Come test time in April and May, students in grades 3, 5, 6 and 7 will take one or more portions of the test; students in grade 9 will get a question tryout on the science portion to measure the validity of questions... .
.... Ironically, hand-wringing over the graduation requirement is filtering down to parents of
third-graders, some said. 
''Parents are very anxious about it,'' said Robert H. Smith, principal of Moreau Hall Elementary
School in North Easton, where 71 students will take the MCAS. ''They're seeing down the road that
if their child doesn't pass the 10th-grade MCAS in a few years, they won't graduate.'' 
Across the nation, Grade 3 is generally viewed as the earliest age at which to start testing,
although some states use specially designed reading exams for students as young as first grade. ....
.... In some school systems, like Boston and Needham, testing is old hat to third-graders who have
taken in-house standardized exams. 
''They don't seem at all nervous,'' Tina Patalano said of her third-grade students at the Thomas
Gardner Elementary School in Allston. ''I'm a little nervous because I just want them to be
prepared.''....
.... But easing nerves for younger students new to MCAS, such as third-graders, has become a
priority at many schools. 
At Cotuit/Marstons Mills Elementary School in Barnstable, teachers prepared third-graders just
as they would for any other test: by practicing how to answer the types of questions included on the
test and reviewing proper test taking techniques. 
The MCAS test is ''the test that shall not be named,'' principal Susanne Leary said. ''The more
you talk about it, the more stressed they are and they worse they perform.''...
.... Fifth-graders took the exam last year and will take the science and history portions this spring. 
''You get really nervous because people are telling you it's really hard and long, so you don't
know what to expect,'' Eliot School fifth-grader Leah Smith said. 
The bottom line, according to fifth-grader Alex Abdalian: ''Don't listen to other people.''


Attleboro Sun-Chronicle, 3/18: MCAS put to the test
http://www.thesunchronicle.com/display/inn_reports/city85.txt

In Norton, young students are keeping journals, even in math, because standardized tests show
they're weak in writing. In Plainville, teachers hope building up students' vocabulary will help
fourth-graders do better on MCAS tests across the board. The Sabis Regional Charter School in
Foxboro hadn't aligned its curriculum with the state's guidelines, and paid for it with lower MCAS
scores than those in surrounding towns. Changes are planned. In Mansfield, school officials are
crediting changes already in place for the town's markedly improved MCAS scores....
.... Some schools are tossing out locally selected curriculums and adopting new ones tailored to state
guidelines -- so-called curriculum frameworks. Why? Because the MCAS tests are based on them. 
Mansfield's success was partly due to the fact it compressed the first three years of English and
math courses into two years through block scheduling. 
Another common change is remedial education. Schools at every level are giving special help to
students who do poorly on the tests. Because the scores include information on what questions were
missed, students can get assistance in precisely those areas where they are weakest. 
This year's 10th-graders will be offered special coaching in most high schools because this is the
class that must pass next spring's math and English tests in order to graduate two years later. Students
who fail will get even more help so that they can do better on re-tests -- they'll have four more
opportunities to pass....
.... Noting that school districts used to devise their own curriculum and assessment tests, Norfolk
Superintendent Marcia Lukon explained in a guest column in The Sun Chronicle, `` This law has
greatly limited local curriculum control over what is taught in our schools.'' 
She complained that not only was the state writing the curriculum frameworks, it was
continuously revising them, and the MCAS tests along with them. As a result, Lukon wrote, ``
curricula must be constantly reviewed and changed if our students are to be successful when they face
the MCAS tests.'' 
Norfolk's principal, Leo Fantini, was equally unhappy in recent comments to the school board. ``
We are teaching to the test. I think that is moving backwards,'' he said, maintaining that could be
damaging to students in the long run....
.... Several area school committees have adopted resolutions calling for postponement if not
elimination of the MCAS graduation requirement after 45 percent of last year's 10th-grade students
failed math and 34 percent failed English, statewide. 
Paul Carroll of the Foxboro School Committee said he feared parents would sue the school
system if their child met other graduation requirements but flunked the MCAS test. 
But anti-MCAS sentiment is not universal. Attleboro Superintendent Ron Pacy said until the last
year or two teachers weren't convinced change really would be required -- because so many past
attempts at education reform had faltered....
... In the Legislature, education reform has the support of the all-important leadership. There may be
some changes, such as providing some relief for vocational and special education students, but the
graduation requirement is likely to remain intact. 
One local legislator told opponents not to get their hopes up. `` The MCAS are not going away,''
said state Rep. Philip Travis, D-Rehoboth. `` I repeat, the MCAS are not going away. I repeat, the
MCAS are not going away.'' 
In fact, the state is only going to turn up the heat on local school districts. Still to come -- later this
month -- are rankings of every school in the state on a scale of 1 to 6, from 1, very high, to 6,
critically low....
.... Legislators and education leaders are looking at the big picture, saying the graduation requirement
and school rankings are necessary to motivate educators and students to reach for higher standards. 
Indeed, several local school officials said the fact last year's test was not a graduation requirement
led many students to treat the exam casually. 
Massachusetts is far from alone in this situation. According to a recent article in the New York
Times, 49 states have set testing standards, most in the last three years. 
The intention, educators said, is to make sure students in rich and poor districts alike receive
comparable instruction, and to boost the overall level of education....
.... Speaking of the high school graduation requirement, Seekonk High School Principal Russell
Goyette said, `` I have every confidence in the world that we'll get every single kid over that bar.'' 


Quincy Patriot Ledger, 3/20: [Superintendent] urges limit on use of MCAS
http://www.ledger.southofboston.com/display/inn_news/news12.txt

Irene Sherry Kaplan has overseen five Whitman-Hanson building projects, believes strongly in
technology's role in education and is an opponent of the grade 10 MCAS test as a graduation
requirement.  Kaplan, superintendent of the Whitman-Hanson schools, was interviewed by the Canton School Committee last night. The other three finalists will be interviewed later this week. 
For nearly an hour and a half, committee members questioned Kaplan about her management
style, the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, the roles of the superintendent and the school committee, and how the Canton and Whitman-Hanson districts compare....
.... Although she believes in standardized tests, Kaplan said she opposes the grade 10 MCAS test as a graduation requirement because it is only one measure of a student's ability....