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State officials are against dropping the MCAS from high school graduation requirements
Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler, appearing on WBZ, said that Massachusetts officials support a state standard for graduation.
State officials would not support the potential ballot question to remove MCAS exams as a high school graduation requirement, the state’s Secretary of Education said Sunday.
Secretary Patrick Tutwiler, appearing on WBZ’s Keller @ Large, said that he and Gov. Maura Healey support a “state standard” for graduation.
“That question, if it passes, would deliver us to a place of no standard, essentially 351 different standards, for high school graduation,” Tutwiler said. “I don’t believe that is the right direction to go.”
The Massachusetts Teachers Association, the driving force behind the proposed ballot questions, amassed more than 135,000 signatures last fall. Their ballot question would require that districts “certify that students have mastered the skills, competencies and knowledge of the state standards” in lieu of the MCAS.
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Tutwiler clarified that while the ballot question would remove the MCAS as a graduation requirement, students would still be required to take it in accordance with federal law.
“I do think it’s an important standard in a student’s experience,” Tutwiler said. “We’re saying definitively that students who graduated Massachusetts have met a certain standard and that test stands right now as that standard. Could it be a different assessment? Absolutely.”
The MTA characterizes the MCAS as a single, high-stakes test that withholds diplomas from vulnerable students — including students with disabilities, students learning English, and some students of color. They say a teacher’s assessment is more accurate and fair.
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“Educators do a better job determining whether a student meets the state standards than the MCAS does,” MTA President Max Page said in a statement. “Our standards are deeply embedded in the teacher preparation programs and teacher licensure tests.”
The signatures, while a significant step toward the ballot, don’t confirm the question for November. Lawmakers still need to either approve the question or put forward their own law. If they don’t act, the MTA would need to gather more signatures.
During the interview, Tutwiler also said he does not support the legalization of teacher’s strikes.
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