Handing down judgment on a hotly debated ballot question Tuesday, voters decided to do away with the requirement that public school students must pass the 10th grade Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) to graduate high school.
The Associated Press called a win for Question 2 at 3:51 a.m. At that point, with 89% of votes counted, the divide was 58.9% in favor and 41.1% opposed, unofficial tallies indicated.
Question 2 sought to eliminate the decades-long standardized test as a prerequisite to a high school diploma. It was backed by the Massachusetts Teachers Association, the largest teachers union in the state.
Tuesday‘s vote does not mean the MCAS tests won’t continue being administered, rather the graduation requirement will cease.
Read more: English learners have some of the state’s lowest MCAS scores. But that’s not the whole story.
In an early morning statement about the results from Massachusetts Teachers Association President Max Page and Vice President Deb McCarthy said that “In passing Question 2, Massachusetts voters have proclaimed that they are ready to let teachers teach, and students learn, without the onerous effects of a high-stakes standardized test undermining the mission of public education: to prepare all students for future success as citizens, workers and creative, happy adults.”
They called Tuesday’s election a “collective victory” shared by every Massachusetts educator and public school student.
The requirement to pass the series of tests has been in place since 2003. It was first enacted as a tool to transform Massachusetts’ educational performance and create common graduation standards for all school districts.
Students must now pass 10th-grade MCAS tests in English language arts, math, and science to receive their high school diplomas. If they fail the test in 10th grade, they have four more chances to take it—twice in 11th grade and twice in 12th grade.
Today, of approximately 70,000 students in each graduating class, 96% have passed the MCAS.
According to data from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Each year about 700 students don’t receive diplomas as a result of the MCAS alone.
Read more: How did your school score? Read the 2024 MCAS results here
Despite voters having their say, the referendum may not be set in stone just yet, based on recent comments from state officials.
In separate interviews, state House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka, both Democrats, floated the possibility of changing or repealing the MCAS ballot question.
As of Oct. 23, parties backing the repeal of the MCAS exam graduation requirement had raised a whopping $9.6 million, compared to the $2.1 million raised by those who oppose it, state records showed.
Deb McCarthy, a fifth-grade teacher in the Hull public schools, is one of the guiding hands behind the push to end the use of the 10th grade MCAS exam as a high school graduation requirement (Screen Capture).screen capture
Supporters of repealing the graduation requirement contended the MCAS tests perpetuate inequities, particularly among special education and English language learner students.
The latter group has some of the lowest MCAS scores in the state.
In Acushnet, along the state’s South Coast, several parents had their say on Tuesday.
“I don’t believe that a unified test determines how smart somebody is or how successful they’ll be in their lifetime,” Ashley Reynolds, 40, said.
Darlene Boutin, 49, offered a similar sentiment.
“I don’t think children should be held to a standard of testing … I think children learn on different waves and I don’t think that the teachers should be held to a standard to teach them to pass a specific test at a certain rate,” she told MassLive. “I think it that takes the love and passion out of learning. And just because a child aces a test, that doesn’t make them any more intelligent than a child that is not able to pass the test.”
Gov. Maura Healey speaks at an Oct. 16 press conference in Roxbury for the “No on 2” campaign aimed at preserving the MCAS graduation requirement. (SUBMITTED)The Westfield News
Meanwhile, those who support the graduation requirement, including a slew of public officials such as Gov. Maura Healey, state Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler, Mariano and Spilka, warned that students would receive a watered-down education by not being held to high standards that, they feel, have helped make Massachusetts schools among the best in the country.
Early Wednesday morning, MassLive reached out to “Protect Our Kids’ Future: Vote No On 2” a broad coalition of business groups, parents, education advocates and teachers that fought for the MCAS graduation requirement to remain. A response to Tuesday’s vote was not immediately available.
State officials have been watching MCAS results as a benchmark of COVID-19 learning loss recovery. Overall, the 2024 results were mixed, showing students have fallen further behind in English language arts — demonstrating a continued decline since the pandemic — but improved in math.
MassLive Politics Editor John L. Micek and Reporter Susannah Sudborough contributed to this story.
