PLANS TO LIBERALIZE MCAS WAIVER ACCESS COMING SOON
By Michael C. Levenson
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE
Michael.Levenson@statehousenews.com
BOSTON, SEPT. 9, 2003….. Students with learning disabilities could find it easier to bypass the MCAS test and graduate with a diploma, under legislation leading House and Senate Democrats plan to unveil by Sept. 30.
Concern is growing among lawmakers, parents and students that the one-year-old MCAS appeals process is too rigid and should be “opened up” for students with strong high school records who cannot pass the high-stakes exam.
Current rules dictate that a student must have a 95 percent attendance record, have taken the MCAS test 3 times, scored a 216 (220 is passing), and enroll in test tutoring, in order to file an appeal. Then, classroom work is compared to peers’ to show a student is keeping up.
The commissioner of education can waive any of the requirements - for example, if a student’s illness kept her out of school for several weeks. For some students, the bar is too high, critics say, and students who merit consideration for a diploma are being turned down before they can have their appeals considered by the Department of Education.
Alexander Freeman, a junior with cerebral palsy, asked state lawmakers to consider his case at a hearing on MCAS legislation Tuesday. He is by most measures an excellent student, who excels in English, history and other subjects. But he struggles in math, and fears he will not pass the MCAS exam. Unless he scores a 216, an appeal would be very hard to win.
He told lawmakers that his trouble with numbers should not prevent him from graduating with a diploma. “I have every right to a diploma, for all the work I have done,” he said. “Denying me a diploma will severely affect my future. People will look at my record and see I did not graduate. They will think I am not smart. They will think I am unable to hold a job. They will look down on me.”
The state Board of Education plans to enact a plan by the end of the month that will make parents and students more aware of their existing rights to an MCAS appeal. The plan may cut the length of some of the forms involved in filing an appeal, and guarantee parents receive an explanation if their children are turned down. The goal is to streamline the process and make parents aware of their rights, said education department spokeswoman Heidi Perlman.
But the changes are not expected to affect the groundrules themselves. Those changes are likely to emerge from leading lawmakers on the Education Committee, who are under pressure to consider a host of proposals: whether to eliminate the requirement that students score a 216, whether to allow parents to bypass superintendents and give parents the right to file an appeal, and how students’ academic records should be judged. Under one plan, portfolios may be introduced in cases where comparing peer-to-peer work is difficult.
In July, lawmakers let stand Gov. Mitt Romney's veto of a plan to ease the appeal process for special education students, in exchange for a pledge from lawmakers to reexamine the process by Sept. 30.
Sen. Robert Antonioni (D-Leominster), the committee chairman, said the forthcoming bill must strike a balance. Lawmakers want to devise a process that allows good students to graduate, but doesn’t make the credentials too easy, and therefore meaningless .
Last year, 38 percent of the 1,200 seniors who received waivers were special education students. There were 2,350 total applications for waivers, and nearly 40 percent of the more than 4,000 seniors who didn't graduate because of the MCAS test had special needs.
Antonioni said students like Freeman should be given a fair chance at graduating high school. Speaking to the young students, he said, “We want to craft an appeals process that fairly allows people like you an opportunity to demonstrate a level of competency.” Committee chairwoman Rep. Marie St. Fleur (D-Boston) agreed.
“The goal is to make sure students have an opportunity to demonstrate competency,” she said.
