Teachers, in poll, fault MCAS mandate 



Oppose exam for graduation

By Anand Vaishnav, Globe Staff, 4/9/2001 

ucking top district leaders, 8 out of 10 Boston public school teachers
oppose using the tough MCAS exam as a graduation requirement,
according to a Boston Teachers Union poll being released today.

About 85 percent of teachers polled do not support using the controversial
test as a prerequisite to graduate, a requirement that kicks in for this year's
class of 10th-graders. About 7 percent do support the graduation mandate,
while about 8 percent didn't know, the poll of 300 teachers shows.

Union president Edward Doherty said the sentiment should send a message
to Superintendent Thomas W. Payzant and School Committee chairwoman
Elizabeth Reilinger, who have backed the test even as support wavers in
some circles locally and in other districts.

''I do think they have to consider the views and beliefs of people who are
making the school system run at the ground level,'' Doherty said. ''This is a
clear situation where the mayor and the business community are supporting
MCAS, and the superintendent and School Committee are just falling in line.''

The poll's release comes two days before students across the state take the
essay section of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System
test. Other portions are given in May.

Last year, about 56 percent of Boston 10th-graders failed the English section
and 66 percent failed math.

Boston school officials say they are concerned about using MCAS, which
students can retake up to five times if they fail, as a sole graduation
requirement. But backing away before the 10th-grade results are known
would deprive schools of an educational road map, Reilinger said.

''If you're going to have massive, massive amounts of students who are not
graduating, that's going to tell us something,'' Reilinger said. ''But if we
eliminate the impact of this test ... we remove the incentive for people to try
their best on it.''

Reilinger also said she is concerned that Boston students are hearing mixed
messages about the importance of the test from their teachers, judging by the
poll results.

But Doherty said teachers can set aside their opinions about the exam to
prepare students. About 60 percent of teachers advocate using MCAS as a
tool to measure student work, the poll shows, despite their disdain for the
graduation requirement.

Teachers are split on whether the district's curriculum is aligned with the test:
42 percent believed it is not, while 39 percent believe it is. 

Students in grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 take one or more sections of the test,
which has become fodder for dueling advertising campaigns by the
Massachusetts Teachers Association and Governor Paul Cellucci's
administration.

The poll, designed by Corrigan Communications in Newton, was conducted
Feb. 26-28.