Lack of funds may force state to cancel MCAS testing in history, science

By Jay Lindsay, Associated Press Writer | August 24, 2004

MALDEN, Mass. --Inadequate funding may force the Department of Education to scrap pilot MCAS testing in history and science planned for the coming academic year, the state's education commissioner said Tuesday.

The tests were scheduled for late winter and spring as the state hones its MCAS science and history exams before making students pass them to graduate by 2008 and 2010, respectively.

Students currently must pass the English and math portions of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System exams to graduate. That standard falls short of Education Reform Act mandates, which require proficiency in multiple subjects. The Supreme Judicial Court has also said the new subjects must be phased in "on a reasonable timetable."

The department has requested more money in a supplemental budget being considered by lawmakers.

If they fail to fund the pilot tests, it will delay the program and represent a retreat by legislators from educational commitments, Education Commissioner David Driscoll said.

"If we can't even get basic funding for testing, how can you stand before the court and say, we're living up to our constitutional obligations?" Driscoll said.

The state planned pilot tests in history for grades 5, 7 and 10 and in science for grades 5 and 8. Students in grade 10 would take science tests in specific subjects, such as physics and chemistry, depending on what classes they were taking.

The pilot exams are part of a test development process that takes several years, as schools adjust curriculums and the department adjusts its questions through multiple exams, said Heidi Perlman, a DOE spokeswoman.

The department received $18.7 million for student assessment in this year's budget, roughly the same as the previous year, but $8.3 million less than the $27 million it requested.

The DOE has asked for $3 million in the supplemental budget to fund test development. Until any additional money is allocated, it's unknown whether science and history pilot exams given in grades 5 and 8 in prior years will continue, Perlman said.

"We'll have to sit down with a calculator and determine how the money will be best spent and which tests will given priority," she said.

State Sen. Robert Antonioni, the Senate chair of the Education Committee, said the legislature has supported MCAS in the past and believes funding will be found for the program.

"I think that if there is a supplemental budget, this would be an appropriate item to fund," said Antonioni, D-Leominster. "My sense is one way or another this program will be funded. It is important."

Driscoll told the state Board of Education about the possible cuts in MCAS testing at Tuesday's meeting.

"I think that's a shame," he told the board. "It may work out. I hope it will work out, but that may be an item we'll have to deal with."

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