One in four juniors still failing MCAS

By Anand Vaishnav, Globe Staff, 4/26/2002

n the most thorough snapshot of student progress under the state's
controversial graduation requirement, one out of every four in the class of
2003 could be denied diplomas because they have yet to pass the challenging
MCAS exam, education officials said yesterday.

Two rounds of test results
from the first group of
students who must pass the
test to graduate show that
about 15,300 juniors still
have to clear the MCAS
hurdle, according to the
state Department of
Education.

But officials pointed with
pride to the flip side: In all,
76 percent, or about
48,400 juniors, have
passed the MCAS,
recognized as one of the nation's toughest standardized tests. The pass rate rose
from 68 percent after students who failed the first time got a second chance to take
it.

''We have a long way to go, but we're making great progress,'' state Board of
Education chairman James A. Peyser told a news conference at Charlestown High
School. ''These numbers are a testament to the hard work of the students in this
room and across the state.''

Students first take the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System exam as
sophomores. They get five chances to pass the English and math portions before
they graduate.

The department combined results from the spring 2001 MCAS and the December
2001 retest to show how many students have passed in 270 school districts,
charter schools, and vocational-technical schools. Previous reports showed how
many students failed English or math, but not both.

While Peyser and state Education Commissioner David P. Driscoll lauded the 76
percent pass rate, test opponents said it is nothing to brag about. A fourth of the
class of 2003 still faces being denied diplomas, and those who remain probably
have attendance problems or are in special-education classes, they noted.
Moreover, the results released yesterday still show a racial achievement gap -
though it is narrowing - and the Commonwealth's big cities still account for most
students who have failed.

''I find it hard to believe that [if] a quarter of the kids in this state wouldn't get a
diploma [it] is a measure of success of this program,'' said Karen Hartke, project
director with FairTest, a Cambridge group that opposes the MCAS. ''Even if the
failure rate dropped considerably, it's still a huge failure rate.''

The numbers show something else that drew educators' attention: a drop-off in
enrollments for the class of 2003 between spring 2001 and fall 2001. Some
68,000 students were sophomores in the spring, and by the fall that figure had
dropped to about 64,000.

Department officials have MCAS scores for about 61,000 of those students. For
the remainder, officials will try to determine whether the students have been tested
and if not, why. In some cases, students may be new to Massachusetts schools.
Officials also speculate that students may have moved in or out of the state,
dropped out, got held back in 10th grade, or skipped ahead to 12th grade. Figures
show the enrollment decrease is fairly consistent with previous years.

But many educators are worried that the difference may stem from a rising dropout
rate as students discouraged by the high-stakes test quit school. Driscoll said the
department will work with principals and schools to find out what happened to
2,800 students whose MCAS scores are unaccounted for.

''We're going to track every child because every child is important to us,'' Driscoll
said.

Broken down by school system, the scores paint familiar portraits: Wealthy
suburban districts have handfuls of students who have yet to pass, while
vocational-technical schools or schools in urban areas have as many as half of their
juniors flunking, although some cities posted big gains.

In Boston, where 51 percent of the city's 3,780 juniors still haven't passed, School
Superintendent Thomas W. Payzant said he will wait for more test data before
deciding whether to ask state officials to delay the math graduation requirement.
But he praised Charlestown High students who cleared the MCAS barrier and
urged them to help about 30 classmates who haven't yet passed.

Wayland school officials simply point to the advantages of living in a highly
educated suburban community, among other factors, as the reasons why all but
three of their 193 juniors passed MCAS. ''We have a very small number of
children who have problems with these types of exams,'' Wayland Superintendent
Gary Burton said. ''Our challenge is much less daunting here than in other areas.''

In the Avon public schools, Superintendent Margaret Frieswyk decided to combat
low MCAS scores by going straight to the students. She gathered her town's 45
juniors - about half of whom still need to pass - in a school gymnasium and asked
them what they needed. They said they hadn't been taught the material in some
cases, and suggested teaching methods that worked for them.

''We've ... tried to adjust accordingly,'' said Frieswyk.

Educators yesterday pointed to low attendance as a reason why students weren't
learning the material for MCAS - and as a reason why after-school tutorial
programs have so many empty chairs in them. Many districts have turned to
in-school tutoring, online help, and even Saturday school.

Lakia Carter, a Charlestown High junior who failed the math portion of the test
twice, is poised to take it again next month. This time, she went to tutoring sessions,
and yesterday she voiced more confidence - even though the 16-year-old
confessed to feeling ''aggravated'' about the exam.

''Now I've got tutoring and all that, so it's helping me a lot,'' Carter said. ''I didn't
do that before.''
 

chart of Massachusetts communities with passing score information