New Bedford votes to give diplomas to students who fail MCAS

BOSTON --Gov. Mitt Romney is threatening to cut off state education funds to New Bedford after the local school committee -- with the mayor's urging -- said it will begin issuing general high school diplomas to students who meet graduation requirements but fail the MCAS exam.

Massachusetts law requires students to pass the two-part math and English MCAS test before receiving a diploma, regardless of their academic performance in school.

Romney said New Bedford must comply with the MCAS requirement or face the loss of more than $100 million in state education aid, the vast bulk of the city's school funds. The school committee in the city 50 miles south of Boston voted unanimously Monday to issue the diplomas.

"To say that we should graduate kids who haven't met the basic standards of reading and math is a gross mistake," Romney, an MCAS supporter, said at an afternoon press conference. "It is a vote of no confidence in our kids. It's also illegal."

Mayor Scott Lang proposed that all students at New Bedford High School who meet school requirements get a "general" diploma. That is distinct from the state-sanctioned diplomas awarded to students who pass the tests.

"Under state law, children who have gone to school for 13 years and have earned their degree under the local standards are not eligible to go to the service, trade school or to college," he said in a phone interview Tuesday.

Last year 20 of 698 students at New Bedford high school failed the English MCAS; 25 failed math. New Bedford is about 50 miles south of Boston.

Schools that award diplomas to students who fail the MCAS risk losing state funding; in New Bedford, that is $103 million of the proposed $112.3 million budget.

Lang said he doesn't believe the state will withhold the money.

"If the state believes in trying to educate children they're not going to be able to turn their back and threaten the district by saying 'we won't give you the money' which is our tax money," he said. "That's not going to help."

Romney said Lang is mistaken if he thinks the state isn't serious about cracking down. The state board of education would have to vote to withhold the education money, but Romney said he's confident board members would take that drastic step if needed.

The two men spoke after the press conference, the mayor said.

"The governor called and said his position is he has to uphold the law. I told him my position," Lang said, "we want them to consider a bifurcated system."

The school district will begin work on its budget sometime this summer, Lang said. In the meantime, if history is any sign, about 35 students do not know if they will be handed diplomas alongside the rest of New Bedford High School's class of 2006.

In a written statement, New Bedford School Committee Member Nancy Feeney said fear of the MCAS is forcing some students to leave school before graduating.

"The intimidation factor of the MCAS test is fueling the dropout situation in New Bedford despite our numerous efforts at support and remediation," Feeney said.

Romney rejected that argument, saying statewide statistics show no direct link between the exams and dropout rates and that dropout rates in some communities fell after the test became mandatory.

The dropout rate for Massachusetts high schoolers hit a new high during the 2003-2004 school year, according to statistics released last year by state education officials, who discounted any connection with the MCAS.

Since the MCAS became a graduation requirement in 2003, a handful of communities have voted to give high school diplomas to students who passed local graduation requirements but failed the MCAS. All have backed down under the threat of losing state education money, according to Department of Education spokeswoman Heidi Perlman.

Perlman also said there is no such thing as a "general" diploma.

New Bedford state Rep. Antonio Cabral, a Democrat, filed a bill Tuesday that would allow cities and towns to create a two-tiered system so that students who don't pass the MCAS could receive a local diploma while being denied a state-sanctioned diploma.