How to battle the MCAS blues...

 

By George Bachrach, 10/15/2002

EVERY YEAR when the MCAS test results are published, those who live in less affluent communities have mixed feelings. We admit to being a little bit envious of Wellesley, Wayland, and Weston, our affluent neighbors who invariably rank in the top three. In Watertown, we confess concern about the middle ranking of our own scrappy schools in a working class town, not unlike many other towns.

So, for all the blue-collar communities that feel just plain blue over MCAS rankings, this one's for you:

The MCAS rankings are simply wrong.

Regardless of our doubts about the test as a learning tool, we accept it as a means of baseline political, if not educational, accountability.

But what is MCAS measuring?

Perhaps it measures some degree of academic weakness of students, or teaching deficits. In some extreme cases it may suggest a systemic failure of a school or district. Clearly, we need to assist those students, teachers, and systems that are struggling.

But we must not presume MCAS rankings tell us anything about the opportunity for academic success in any particular community or, for that matter, the prognosis for our children's success in the world beyond the public school.

If the government is focused on the struggling, bottom third of our students - and rightfully so - the analysis cannot fairly calculate individual results, district-wide, and arrive at a ranking of communities with any validity.

For example, what - if anything - do the rankings tell us about the academic capability of the top half of Wellesley students compared with the top half of Watertown students, or the top half of Boston students? Among these student achievers, is there any real difference?

And if we look at communities as a whole, the rankings, per se, are still flawed.

What's the real academic difference between Wayland, ranked No. 2, with a score of 1997, and Watertown, ranked 109th, with a score of 1897?

If you compress the rankings due to tied ranks (ie. three towns tied for 26th, etc.), Watertown winds up 67th. What does the ranking really mean? Isn't it the same as scoring 95 percent versus 90 percent on a test? Is 90 percent all that bad?

Most important, let's look at what the MCAS fails to test. These rankings tell us nothing about the intangibles of a child's education, which are largely based in the family and the community. What are the lessons learned growing up in an immigrant household, understanding two languages and two cultures? What benefits accrue to their classmates and friends?

In an age of internationalism, global trade and fear of terrorism, which students will be better equipped to live in a diverse world? And what does the MCAS tell us about our children's appreciation for art and music, as well as math and language? Which community instills the strongest work ethic or a sense of intellectual curiosity?

Aren't these intangibles essential to a meaningful education, and how shall we measure them?

Let's put aside these MCAS rankings for what they are, a need for order without meaning. My favorite analogy comes from the annual physical exams of my two young sons. They are regularly slightly below average in height. I worry a little until I realize the difference between the first and 50th percentile is about one inch. Really not much difference at all. Isn't that the point?

So, if we lived in Wellesley or Wayland, we'd feel proud. But we feel just as proud of the schools and kids in our working class town of Watertown.

If you live in a community like ours, perhaps you should take stock.

Our kids go to school with classmates from many cultures speaking many languages. They inherently understand the diversity of the world. They learn to appreciate the work of carpenters and plumbers as much as the work of lawyers and businessmen. They learn economy, frugality, and a strong work ethic because they cannot depend on support beyond their own efforts. They value the importance of education because it's their ticket ahead.

Your kids' education doesn't end at the classroom door, and their success is not measured in MCAS rankings. Regardless of where you live, the academic success of your children depends, immeasurably, not only on parents' personal commitment to classroom success, but also to the broader life experience provided by family and community.

So, congratulations to our affluent suburban neighbors. But, to blue-collar communities ranked farther back, say goodbye to the MCAS blues. We'll keep working on school improvements, but we like where we live.

George Bachrach, a former state senator and former chairman of Massachusetts Office for Children, teaches journalism at Boston University.

 

This story ran on page A15 of the Boston Globe on 10/15/2002.
© Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company.