RESOLUTION FOR THE 2002 DELEGATE ASSEMBLY OF THE MASSACHUSETTS ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL COMMITTEES
--passed unanimously by the Brookline School Committee
May 2002
WHEREAS the Massachusetts Education Reform Law calls for the use of a comprehensive assessment system, not a single test, for determining academic competency,
WHEREAS the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) test does not adequately support different styles of learning, communication, or student performance and WHEREAS making a single standardized test a requirement for graduation or grade promotion is not educationally justified,
WHEREAS the Massachusetts Association of School Committees has expressed its continued opposition to the use of the MCAS test as a graduation requirement, and
WHEREAS the Department of Education has put forth a policy that would deny high school diplomas to students who fail the MCAS test regardless of their other academic achievements and competencies,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED
That the Massachusetts Association of School Committees reaffirms its commitment to education reform and its opposition to the use of the MCAS test as a graduation requirement, and
That the Massachusetts Association of School Committees asserts the right of local school committees to grant high school diplomas to all students who meet their school districtsą requirements for graduation and who have demonstrated competency in a common core of skills measured by a variety of assessment instruments.*************************************************************
MASC Opposition to the MCAS Graduation Requirement
This resolution, passed unanimously by the Brookline School Committee on May 23, 2002, is being considered by many school committees across the state this fall. Please urge your school committee to pass it! It will come before the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) annual convention of delegates on October 30, 2002.
In November 2000, the MASC voted overwhelmingly, 137 to 30, to call for suspension of the MCAS graduation requirement until major questions about the test were resolved. (See below for exact wording.) The association reaffirmed that vote by the same 4-1 margin in the fall of 2001.
The new campaign by school committees to consider granting diplomas to deserving seniors, regardless of their MCAS scores, is a natural extension of the thoughtful, strong stand they have already taken in opposition to the MCAS graduation requirement. We urge you to work with your school committee on this new campaign. You may want to consider a two-step process: first asking them to pass the MASC resolution as soon as possible, and then to pass a resolution asserting that they themselves will continue to grant diplomas regardless of MCAS scores later this fall or winter. (See resolutions by Hampshire Regional and Cambridge School Committees for examples of the latter.)
Here is the resolution that was passed by the Mass. Association of School Committees 4-1 in the fall of 2000 and fall of 2001:
WHEREAS MASC recognizes the need to set high standards for all students in the Commonwealth and to establish a system of accountability that ensures that all school systems are preparing their students for an increasingly complex world and,
WHEREAS we believe that the current Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System is seriously flawed,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the legislature and/or the Department of Education suspend MCAS as a graduation requirement until such time as these critical issues have been addressed:
1) The need to develop a variety of assessment instruments (as described in the Education Reform Act of 1993) so that all students are evaluated fairly
2) The need to develop additional criteria, so that no single test will determine the fate of a student or the value of a school system
3) The length of the test and the time it takes away from teaching and learning.
4) The effect on students of the use of the test as a graduation requirement (including but not limited to vocational, special education, and bilingual students).
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See www.caremass.org for more information on the diploma-granting campaign.
