Deb McCarthy taught fifth graders in the Hull public schools for a quarter-century. She‘s a union leader who comes from a family of educators. And now she’s one of the guiding hands behind a high-stakes Nov. 5 ballot question that would scrap the 10th MCAS examination as a high school graduation requirement.
If the question is approved and makes it into law, school districts would still administer the exam, but they would be allowed to formulate their own graduation standards.
Supporters argue that educators are best suited to determine whether students are meeting standards, not a “one-size-fits-all” standardized test.
Opponents, meanwhile, say the test is a badly needed measurement of students’ preparedness and academic achievement.
The fight over the ballot question has attracted high-profile supporters and big money.
Cambridge native Matt Damon, an actor and philanthropist, has lent his voice to the “Yes on 2″ campaign, which supports the push to end the graduation requirement.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey and other elected officials, have come out in opposition. Senior legislative leaders also have floated the possibility of changing the ballot question, or repealing it entirely, if voters approve it.
MassLive’s conversation with McCarthy has been lightly edited for clarity and content.
Q: First question: We’re less than five days out from Election Day, how are you feeling?
Deb McCarthy: “You know, what a great question. This has been more than a decade in the making, so I am feeling that the conversation is front and center and that a coalition of educators, parents, and community members are finally being heard about the harm [that’s] happening when we deny a student a diploma based upon a one-time metric.”
Q: How did you come to this work? You were a classroom teacher for many years. But you were mobilized in a very personal way.
A: “About a decade ago, I actually was the chair of the Government Relations Committee for the MTA, and we brought legislation forward, right? So I have been engaged in this process legislatively, for more than a decade.”
“What happened was, with the pandemic, when everybody was saying that we shouldn’t give the test, and everybody was saying [it was], you know, not a good time to get the test. And we decided to administer it. And we had many parents who had opted out.
- Read More: Cambridge native Matt Damon just endorsed scrapping the MCAS grad requirement. Here’s what he said
… I refused to give the test and was put on administrative leave.” (She was later returned to duty.)
Q: Opponents of ending the graduation requirement have argued that if you take the test away, then you remove any objective measure of student performance and that kids simply will be ushered along, irrespective of whether they have the skills [they need to graduate].
A: “It‘s simply not true. Every year, we have students in Hull who get accepted into Harvard, students in Weymouth, students in Brookline, students in Wellesley, and students in Boston, and they get into Harvard and other colleges based on their GPA and their rigorous coursework. Colleges don’t ask for the MCAS.
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Q: Recent polling on this issue shows about 51% voter support for repealing the graduation requirement. When you‘re out there talking to people, is that reflected in the conversations you’re having?
A: “Far more than that. You know, we’ve been doing internal polling every week … Remember, we collected 170,000 signatures, right? We’ve been out canvassing and phone-banking for four months now. And I’ve been out in the community having conversations. I’ve been in community with parents who have given up their weekends, [who] have given up their nights, and have joined us because they are just as passionate and committed to the elimination of this one-time metric being tied to a diploma.”
Q: What are those parents telling you?
A: “ … That they would like to see us address this inequity, that they would like to see us do something about the attainment of a diploma based upon a one-time metric.”
Q: You’ve been a classroom teacher for 25 years. How did you come to teaching? What did you get from it?
A: “So my mother was an educator in Hull who ended her career after a 50-year run. My sister is an educator. My daughter is an educator. My son married an educator … I was playing ‘school’ when I was in kindergarten. In eighth grade, I was volunteering in my brother’s Special Needs classroom … So I’ve known as early as I can remember that I was going to be an educator.”
“… People like to say that they teach to make a difference. For me, I taught because the students make a difference in my life every single day. And I became the person that I am today because of the students in my classroom, which is why this fight is so important.”
