Askwith Education Forum Askwith Education Forum Weighs High-Stakes Test Graduation Requirement Discussion of MCAS and Massachusetts Ballot Question 2 focuses on implications for teachers and students Posted October 23, 2024 By Ryan Nagelhout Assessment College Access and Success Education Policy Student Achievement and Outcomes With early voting already underway in Massachusetts and Election Day just weeks away, the debate over Ballot Question 2 took center stage at the Askwith Education Forum.The event focused on a proposed ballot initiative that would repeal the requirement that students earn a passing score on 10th-grade Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) exams to graduate high school.With fierce support and opposition across the state educational landscape, the form brought representatives from both sides of the debate to weigh the value of the high-stakes test, how its data is used by educators, and the potential impact of removing it as a graduation requirement.The event featured a presentation from John Papay, Ed.M.’05, Ed.D.’11, an associate professor of education and economics and the director of the Annenberg Institute at Brown University.Mary Bourque, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents, and Patrick Tutwiler, Ed.M.'00, Massachusetts secretary of education, argued in favor of keeping the MCAS graduation requirement. Max Page, president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, which lobbied to put Question 2 on the ballot this fall, argued in favor of the requirement’s elimination.Professor Martin West, the panel’s host and academic dean at HGSE, described the discussion as an opportunity to “model how engaging in civil disagreement on contested issues can promote deeper understanding.”“The late senator Daniel Patrick Moinahan once quipped that ‘Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not to their own facts,’” said West, introducing Papay’s work. “I’m grateful to John for his willingness to help us attend to that distinction.” John Papay, Ed.M.’05, Ed.D.’11, presented research to start Tuesday's Askwith Education Forum on Ballot Question 2. Photo: Jill Anderson Papay’s research — begun when he was a student at the Ed School and which has included a number of HGSE faculty and students as it developed over the last 15 years — looked at the impact high school exit exams have had in Massachusetts, including whether the tests improve student achievement and long-term success. One finding: Students who struggle to pass the MCAS are generally not career and college ready and are more likely not to earn a living wage by age 30.Papay and his team stressed they were not taking a stance on any particular ballot initiative and movement, but rather wanted to let the data speak for itself while highlighting that more work must be done to improve outcomes regardless of what voters decide.“Regardless of how the ballot initiative plays out, we know what MCAS scores will be part of the landscape here” said Papay, noting that the MCAS will still be taken in the state even if its graduation requirement is removed. “We need to think about how schools are working to improve the knowledge capacities and skills of students across the board. And we see on average that schools that do that better are raising earnings more.”While students with disabilities or learning English as a second language are disproportionally found to fail MCAS assessments, critics of Question 2 noted removing the graduation requirement does little to actually help those students succeed.“We have to be really concerned of the messaging that we’re giving our students if we remove the MCAS exam’s [stakes],” said Borque. “Are we having misplaced compassion for our marginalized students?”Page’s arguments for the ballot measure focused on the impact high-stakes testing has on teachers and the limitations it puts on their efforts to maximize time and impact in the classroom.“This is a crucial issue. This high-stakes test is undermining what we do as professionals, it’s hurting our neediest students and it’s bad for our schools,” said Page. “I go around and I talk to our members. And over and over what they say is that the high-stakes test forced them to narrow the curriculum, to teach the test, and to teach test-taking skills.” Max Page, Massachusetts Teachers Association president, argued in favor of eliminating MCAS requirements on Tuesday. Photo: Jill Anderson Page said he often asks teachers in his union how much time it takes to prepare students for exams like the MCAS, stressing that time could be better spent on authentic learning and helping those who need additional teaching.“We all agree that an educator in the classroom with the student doing authentic learning is the most important thing that happens in school,” said Page. “So why are we putting this pressure on that’s forcing superintendents and principals and then educators to spend so much time on things that are not authentic?”Tutwiler reassured a packed Askwith Hall that the Healy/Driscoll administration is committed to working on high school reforms regardless of the election outcome next month, but worries passing Question 2 will ultimately hurt vulnerable students the ballot initiative is intended to help.“I remember reading in a graduate class that change in education is a process, not an event. When you engage in a change initiative in education there needs to be a thoughtful process,” said Tutwiler, noting Question 2 does not offer an alternative standard for graduation requirements. “When it’s an event, there are in some cases unintended consequences and, for this particular ballot initiative, there are predictable consequences.”You can watch the event in its entirety above. Election Day in Massachusetts and around the United States is November 5. Vote Yes (eliminate) Massachusetts legislature has failed to act on reforms for decadesMCAS (and its data) will remain, just not required to graduateStudents who fail to pass MCAS are disproportionately English learners or those with disabilitiesHigh-stakes testing narrows curriculum Too much classroom time spent “teaching to the test”Graduation certification by district could incentivize learning through 12th grade Vote No (Keep) Ballot Question 2 does not offer alternative graduation requirementsMCAS keeps uniform expectations for graduation in MassachusettsUneven standards hurts reputation of Massachusetts diplomasRemoves impetus to help vulnerable students Question 2 is an educational event, not a reform process Bad optics to tell students the test doesn’t matter Askwith Education Forum Bringing innovators and influential leaders to the Harvard Graduate School of Education Explore All Articles Related Articles Education Now High School Exit Exams: A Roadblock to Graduation or a Necessary Standard? 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