In its title, “Voters to Decide Future of MCAS” (Oct. 25), Maile Blume’s excellent piece hits the nail on the head. The proposal to remove the MCAS graduation requirement is but one more step in a long-standing effort to remove the MCAS test altogether. It is also one more step away from accountability. Away from the original goal of the Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993 to improve the quality of education for all students, especially those who have been underserved.
Removing the graduation requirement would simply reinforce the tendency to lower expectations for certain students––children of working-class, low-income, minority, or immigrant families––as well as those “students on individualized education programs (IEPs).” In effect, MCAS tests offer an antidote to what Diane Ravitch (in “Left Back”) referred to as “subtle discrimination” and what John Dewey (in “Democracy and Education”) called “social predestination.”
Consider this: the MCAS test is unique. All kids take the same test, no matter their academic level. There is no watered-down version of this test. It does not lower standards for anyone; it raises them for everyone. That’s why it should remain a graduation requirement.
To put it diplomatically, public education has problems. Using the 10th-grade MCAS exam as a graduation requirement is not one of them. Moreover, removing the requirement would constitute a disservice to all students, especially the ones who have trouble passing it on their first try––the very ones who require more support throughout their entire schooling. Don’t tinker with the test. Give all students the solid education they need to pass it. They deserve nothing less.
These comments are based on a 40-year teaching career, grades seven through 12, in mostly public, but also charter and private, schools.
G.T. Viglirolo, Trapelo Road