Talking Points

Teachers and parents agree: One standardized test shouldn’t determine a child’s future

This November, we can vote for a ballot initiative that would replace the standardized MCAS test as a high school graduation requirement, and instead require students to demonstrate that they have mastered the state’s education standards, skills, and competencies through their schoolwork and teacher evaluations.

Your YES vote is:

• Better for Students
  Tests alone can’t fully measure whether a student is ready to graduate from high school. Right now, regardless of their GPA or teacher evaluations, a student can be denied their diploma if they do poorly on a test. This stressful assessment doesn’t accurately test students’ knowledge—it only shows which students are better at taking standardized tests.
• Better for Teachers
  Most teachers in our public schools want to replace the MCAS test as a graduation requirement because it only measures a portion of what their students need to be successful. Removing this as a graduation requirement will give teachers the freedom to educate the whole child and truly prepare them for success, rather than teaching to the test.
• Better for Massachusetts
  Voting yes won’t eliminate the MCAS test—rather, it will replace the test as a graduation requirement with other measures that more accurately evaluate a student’s mastery of their coursework and state education standards. Students will still take the MCAS test, and their scores will be used to identify which students are progressing and which need help. Without the burden of a high-stakes, make-or-break test, our students will be better prepared to graduate and succeed after high school.