State warns New Bedford not to relax MCAS rule

By Catherine Elton, Globe Correspondent | May 10, 2006

Governor Mitt Romney and state education leaders threatened yesterday to cut the New Bedford school system's funding and rescind certification of administrators if they grant diplomas to high school students who failed the MCAS exams.

New Bedford school officials would violate state law on graduation requirements and will have to back down, state officials said. Three school systems vowed to give diplomas to students whether or not they passed the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System tests around the time the law went into effect in 2003, but the school districts, pushed by the state, later gave in.

''To say that we should graduate kids who haven't met the basic standards of reading and math is a gross mistake," Romney said during a press conference yesterday. ''It's a vote of no confidence in our kids. If there's no test and there's no standards, then the graduation degree doesn't mean anything."

Beginning with the class of 2003, all students have had to pass MCAS exams to receive a diploma. Currently, students who meet all other requirements for graduation but don't pass the MCAS get a ''certificate of attainment," which is not considered a high school diploma.

In New Bedford, Mayor Scott Lang, who is dismayed by the city's dropout, unemployment, and MCAS passing rates -- all worse than the state average -- sought and won School Committee approval on Monday to give students ''general" diplomas if they meet the school system's graduation requirements but do not pass the MCAS. Lang, also the School Committee chairman, sees the move as way to push the state to change its policy.

In New Bedford, roughly a third of students drop out over the course of high school, compared with 13 percent statewide, according to a state report projecting this year's rates. Lang said he believes students decide to drop out when they fear they will not be able to pass the MCAS.

''Cutting off our funding will only exacerbate the problem," he said. ''I am not looking for a confrontation, I am looking for a solution from them."

As of yesterday, 91 percent of the 631-member senior class at New Bedford High had passed the MCAS. Last year, 93 percent of seniors passed the exam, down from 97 percent and 96 percent the previous two years, according to the school. .

The MCAS graduation requirement poses special problems for youths seeking jobs and for employers. High rates of unemployment in the city predate the MCAS requirement, Lang said, but graduating fewer high school students has worsened the rate.

In New Bedford, which has a median household income of $27,569, nearly 66 percent of students come from low-income families, compared with 28 percent statewide, according to the state Department of Education.

Cutting New Bedford's funding and rescinding certificates of administrators would be a last resort, said Heidi Perlman, spokeswoman for the Education Department.

The state Board of Education can put a hold on state money for schools allocated by the Legislature, she said.

Cambridge, Falmouth, and Hampshire tried to implement the same type of initiative as New Bedford several years ago.

State education officials are discussing whether to raise the standards for passing the MCAS, not whether to eliminate them, said James Peyser, chairman of the Board of Education.

''I have no intention, and neither does the board, of revisiting this issue," he said. ''It is settled."

Others disagree. Representative Antonio F.D. Cabral, Democrat of New Bedford, filed legislation yesterday that would make legal the kind of diploma that the New Bedford schools plan to award.

''The governor can use all the threats he wants," he said.

The Legislature appropriates how much money school systems get, not the governor, Cabral said. ''We need to begin this debate."

Katie Gilfeather, a mother of two children in New Bedford schools, said she agrees with the School Committee's decision.

''When you consider the implications of not getting a diploma, it isn't right to hold up someone's career based on one performance measure," Gilfeather said. ''Some people are just terrible test takers. I see how anxious my own kids get about taking the exam."

Statewide, various school committee members and superintendents are discussing whether it's wise to maintain the current graduation requirement because of rising dropout rates, said Tom Scott, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents.

Students' MCAS scores were flat or declined slightly at most grades in 2005, after years of rising passing rates when the exams were first given.

Perlman said that the increase in dropout rates is negligible, and that MCAS exams aren't the principal reason students are dropping out.

A survey the department conducted indicated only 13 percent of school districts cited MCAS exams as a reason for students quitting school.

Glenn Koocher, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, said that New Bedford's move to buck the system on graduation requirements is understandable.

''I think there are school committee members across the state that are looking at this and mumbling under their breath, 'Go New Bedford,' " he said.

Russell Nichols and Maria Sacchetti of the Globe staff contributed to this report.