Should MCAS Stay? Governor and Public Have Different Views

Governor Maura Healey and her team are sticking to their stance: the MCAS test should stay as a high school graduation requirement. But polls are showing that the public isn’t on the same page. A recent survey by The Boston Globe and Suffolk University found that 58% of people want to remove the MCAS as a graduation requirement. Other polls are showing similar results. Why is there such a big difference in opinion? Governor Healey and other state leaders like Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler believe that the MCAS helps keep education standards high across Massachusetts. They think that without the MCAS, schools might set lower standards. But the Massachusetts Teachers Union isn’t so sure. They argue that the MCAS is too stressful and isn’t fair to all students, especially those who are learning English, have disabilities, or come from low-income families. Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Ayanna Pressley support the union’s view, saying that there should be another way to measure student achievement besides a single test. If the MCAS is removed as a graduation requirement, students would still take the test, but their graduation would depend on local district standards. The state recommends the MassCore curriculum, which includes more subjects than just the MCAS. State Senator Jason Lewis has a different idea. He wants to create a new, non-test-based standard for graduation. It’s a complicated issue with many sides to consider.