Have you ever taken a Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) test? If you go to Lexington High School, chances are, you have. If you didn’t enjoy it, you’re not alone. One of the questions on the upcoming ballot is whether or not to keep the long-standing requirement of passing 10th grade MCAS to graduate high school. In recent years, the debate around standardized testing has intensified. MCAS, despite still being used as a benchmark for a student and school’s academic prowess, has major shortcomings. These include failing to consider students’ unique circumstances and not fully quantifying a student’s knowledge. Consequently, it’s time to rethink the assessment’s role as a graduation requirement. MCAS should not be a graduation requirement because it inadequately measures students’ strengths and disregards students’ diverse backgrounds.
Standardized tests like MCAS, by definition, are designed to evaluate all students equally. However, disparities in access to resources has resulted in noticeable differences in MCAS scores.
“For standardized tests, if you are more privileged, you’re going to have access to tutoring services and other resources that can help you,” Medha Jayendran, a senior at LHS, said.
According to 2024 MCAS data from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, wealthy communities such as Lexington, Weston, Dover, and Sherborn average above 500/560 (meeting expectations), while less affluent towns such as Holyoke, Springfield, and Lawrence average around 480/560 or less (partially meeting expectations).
Additionally, standardized tests like the MCAS only demonstrate a fraction of the high school learning experience.
“A test is only a couple hours over a period of two days, but a student’s learning experience has been from Kindergarten through 10th grade. Having a standardized test to try to demonstrate everything a student knows is impossible,” Greg Morano, a Spanish teacher at LHS, said.
Furthermore, many factors such as the testing environment, the student’s physical and mental state on that particular day, and the amount of preparation given by the school can affect how a student scores on MCAS.
There are alternatives to MCAS. Morano suggests student portfolios or performance-based assessments that can demonstrate a student’s mastery in math, English, and the sciences in a more dynamic and encompassing way.
Others might argue that without MCAS, schools would not have a standard way to measure high school graduates. However, individual schools have their own graduation requirements, such as required community service and credits, which already hold students up to a certain standard.
Overall, MCAS is not only an incomprehensive and inequitable measure of a student’s abilities, but it is also unnecessary. By voting no on question two of the Massachusetts ballot, one can ensure that students’ school experiences aren’t crammed into a few arbitrary hours that could determine the trajectory of their lives.
