2024-03-04 00:00:00 - Special Joint Committee on Initiative Petitions
2024-03-04 00:00:00 - Special Joint Committee on Initiative Petitions
SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER1 - Good afternoon. The public hearing of the special joint committee on initiative petitions will now come to order. My name is Alice Feich. I'm the assistant, majority leader in the house and the house chair of the special committee, and I'm joined by my senate co chair, Senator Cindy Friedman vice chair of Senate Committee on Ways and Means and co chair of this committee. I would like to recognize the House members of the committee who are present at this time. To my immediate left representative Michael Day House chair of the Joint Committee on Judiciary. To his left, Representative Kenneth Gordon, House Chair of the Joint Committee on Public Service, and to his left, Representative, David Viera, who's the ranking minority member of the Joint Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditure, and State Assets, and the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security. I would now like to turn it over to my co chair, Senator Friedman, to introduce the Senate members of the committee.109
SPEAKER2 - Thank you, madam chair. And I'd like to introduce senator Paul Feeney Senate chair of Joint Committee on Financial Services and Senator Jason Lewis, joint chair of Joint Committee on Education and Senate and the Senate Committee on Ethics and, the rank of the ranking minority member Senator Fatman is135 a minority member of the Senate Committee on Post Audit and139 Oversight, the Senate Committee on Rules, and the Joint Committee on Rules, and143 I think is a testament to how important this is, I'd like to take this moment to acknowledge that all of the senators and, and reps on, assigned to this committee have come. So thank you all for being
SPEAKER1 - here. Thank you, senator.
So the special committee on an the special joint committee on initiative petitions is charged with meeting the legislature's responsibilities as laid out in171 article 48 of the constitution. This public hearing is being held pursuant to those requirements. This is the first hearing in a series of hearings the committee will be conducting on ballot questions. This hearing will in this hearing, we will hear testimony on house number 4252, an act190 requiring the district certify that students have mastered the skills,194 competencies, and knowledge of the state standards as a replacement for the MCAS graduation requirement. The hearing will be live streamed on the legislature's website, and the recording will be posted shortly after the conclusion of the hearing. As in all hearings, anyone being disruptive, will be asked to leave. A copy of the agenda has been made available to you and we will attempt to follow it. The use of recording devices or photography is permitted provided that there's no disruption, to the hearing. And we ask that you please turn off or silence, cell phones231 and any other devices that might disrupt the testimony. The hearing is235 divided into 4 sections as will the subsequent hearings be. The first we will hear from a number of experts in the field for the first hour. That will be followed by 30 minutes by the proponents of the ballot question, and 30 minutes from opponents of the ballot question. Then we have, an hour set aside for, the general public, who, anyone who wishes to participate in that had to have already, signed up in advance. The first expert this afternoon is doctor Paul Reble. He's the Francis Keppel professor of educational policy and administration at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a former secretary of education for the Commonwealth during the Patrick Administration. Paul, would you like to join us?
PAUL REVILLE - HAVARD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION - Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. Representative Peisch, senator, Friedman, and,305 colleagues on the panel, thank you for hosting me here today. I can't help but note that this is, 30-plus years we've been debating this question. So this is a lot of old friends and colleagues and participants in the conversation, and I think I'm here today to bring a little bit of historical perspective on it. I do have a point of view. But where did this come from? What's the rationale for, having MCAS and the associated consequences or stakes associated with it? What are the origins of that? So, I've got some brief, testimony that I'd like to share with you, and then, happy to answer any questions that you might have.
Let me know because I was involved in the sort of creation355 of this in the first place, I wonder if you'd indulge359 me for a few paragraphs from the explosive 1983 Federal Commission report on the state of education, which was entitled Nation at Risk. So now we're 40 years back on this. Here's a quote, we report to the American people that while we can take justifiable pride in what our schools and colleges have historically accomplished and colleges have historically accomplished and contributed to the United States and the well-being of its people, the educational foundations of our society are presently being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a nation and a people. What was unimaginable a generation ago has begun to occur. Others are matching and surpassing our educational attainments.
If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today,405 we might well have viewed it as an act of war. As409 it stands, we have allowed this to happen ourselves.411 We have even squandered the gains in student achievement made in the wake of the Sputnik challenge. Moreover, we have dismantled essential support systems that help make those gains possible.421 We have, in effect, been committing an act of unthinking unilateral educational disarmament. A little later on, learning is the indispensable investment required for success in the information age we are entering. Our concern, however,439 goes well beyond the matters such as industry and commerce. It also includes the443 intellectual, moral, and spiritual strengths of our people, which knit together the very fabric of our society.
The people of the United States need to know that individuals in our society who do not possess the levels of skill literacy and training essential to this new era will be effectively disenfranchised. Not simply from the material rewards that accompany competent performance, but also from the465 chance to participate fully in our national life. A high level of469 shared education is essential to a free democratic society and to foster a common culture, especially in a country that prides itself on pluralism and individual freedom. So this report with, really what you'd have to regard as almost inflammatory language, galvanized a fair amount of interest, not least of which was in Massachusetts where we492 had at the time the highest number of school business partnerships of any state in the nation short of California and499 the report mobilized the state's business community501 into action.
In 1988, Jack Rennie was the widely recognized education leader of the business community. He and I founded the Massachusetts Business Alliance For Education and within our co and with our colleagues, wrote the Every Child A Winner report. Important, title to know. Every child, not just some. Every Child A Winner report that initially galvanized the state's thinking on a grand bargain for education reform. That grand bargain was essentially reform in exchange for refinancing. Every child, the winner described a framework for reform, and the executive and legislative branches adopted for their which the educate the executive and, legislative branches adopted for their framework for initial discussions on reform. Driven by a concern for talent, jobs, and importantly, equity, the business community pushed hard for dramatic reform.
To their lasting credit, your lasting credit, this legislature and then Governor Weld responded with the Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993 which was several years in the making. It had570 essentially three major components. Standards-based school reform adopted that framework, and improvements to the system, the existing system of education, everything from increasing the powers of superintendents to school-based councils to charter schools, for example, were in there. Then a massive refinancing, a massive and highly progressive refinancing of education, doubling the state's594 commitment to public education over seven years. Your hearing today focuses on one aspect of the standards portion of that Bill. The standards portion of the Bill represented the adoption of a common sense logic model, a continuous improvement model614 similarly employed in616 professional sports, medicine, and business.
Goals, measurement, improvement, or as it came to be known, standards-based reform was the main provision of that section. It included high standards by all and all means. A632 commitment from the beginning to say all children can do this. We as adults must supply them with the instruction and the support they need to attain mastery. So, with high standards for all children, our standards645 ultimately became known as the highest in the country when the nation embarked on developing a common core standard they used Massachusetts as the model. The assumption was adults could agree, and this was too facile an assumption660 it turns out, but the adults could agree on what it was that children ought to know and be able to do. But eventually, we got there, that we will have them aligned curriculum that would be up to local communities to adapt but that curriculum would teach students those subjects, that material, and help them develop those skills that would ultimately be evaluated.
The teachers would receive adequate professional development to achieve these new goals. I mean we were asking a monumental achievement of school systems and teachers to achieve for all students a standard of performance that hereto heretofore had been reserved for an elite few. So698 teachers needed professional development. Had700 they known how to do it, they would have been doing it. So we set new standards. We had high performance expectations. We needed to provide help. Then finally, we'd measure progress as anybody would who was establishing an initiative to attain a goal. You'd measure progress for diagnostic purposes and to guide improvement efforts. You'd have in721 effect a mastery demonstration. If we ask students to know and be able to725 do these things, we'd have to measure whether they727 knew and were able to do those things.
Then that would dictate where we, targeted improvement strategies733 and give us some accountability. The adults in the field737 would have some accountability, and there would be, importantly, relative to today's conversation, some sense of urgency about how to do it. MCAS was introduced in legislation as a measurement instrument. Important to know that it's not a strategy in itself. It's an instrument for measuring what students know and can do. It's a tool. It's a yardstick to provide a deeper view of student performance and to allow for the examination of comparative district and school performance, as well as analysis of subgroup performance. You don't772 fatten a cow by weighing it, but periodically if you're a farmer you weigh that cow to understand where you are in terms of, developing that782 cow for the market, if you will.
Here's where the equity purpose of this comes into view. We've known for789 a long time that grading standards vary791 widely between districts. An A in many of our high-performing school districts usually represents a much higher standard of mastery than an A in a low-performance school. Prior to MCAS, there was no common standard and806 no806 basis for comparison. MCAS provides us a clear-eyed reading of how school systems, schools, and even classes and various demographic subgroups, importantly, racial, income, and disability, language groups are doing in their performance against the only statewide achievement benchmarks. MCAS reveals where students are being served well in advancing and where they are falling behind. This lens generates corrective action, and without it, these subgroups get lost in the averages.
Why have the why have stakes associated with MCAS? In particular, why have an MCAS requirement for high school graduation? Why have any stakes or consequences849 associated with student achievement?851 The message of MARA, the Reform Act, and having standards is that performance counts. We can identify areas in need of improvement and acting to improve is urgent. MCAS identifies areas, district schools, students, and student subgroups, where improvement is needed. The state, districts, and school leaders provide support and assistance for corrective action, and in most cases, gains come about. When there is chronic underperformance, there needs to be accountability. Having some form of consequences associated with standards makes them matter and creates a sense of888 urgency for improvement.
Before MCAS, we had statewide testing, but no consequences and no urgency. I905 witnessed this at great length we had a basic skills test at the Massachusetts and when the results came out that had communities and subgroups performing at different levels, people just shrugged their shoulders. Performance didn't matter. MCAS brought the spotlight and with it some mild consequences. Frankly, we, like most other states, haven't had many real consequences for adults, for policymakers, you know, from policymakers to leaders to teachers, but with our graduation requirement, we have said to students that mastery matters and you need to achieve the mastery of just a 10th-grade level of skill and knowledge in English, math, and science to graduate.
Important to underline for those who may argue that this is an unreasonable standard, it's a 10th grade standard. If you don't show mastery in 10th grade, you'll get multiple chances951 to improve, as well as a953 lot of help, a plan for success, and even alternative routes. You have a couple of years and multiple times at AMCAS. It is not a single test, as some will argue. You get multiple chances to take that test to improve and demonstrate that you have the skills and knowledge necessary to be successful in college and career because that's what975 it's all about. It's measuring the skills you977 need to go to the next level and be successful. But when981 you graduate, you'll know and your employer will know that irrespective of where you went to school you have the skills, knowledge, and disposition to be successful. We know this is true because we've had a look at it statistically.
Our colleagues at Brown University have done a major study showing the strong MCAS correlation between future earnings and college success. What we have said as a Commonwealth is that we're going to try and guarantee that every high school graduate in Massachusetts has the skill and knowledge to succeed. Even with MCAS, we aren't there yet. Plenty of our students need remediation as they go on to college. We refuse, as a matter of policy, to socially promote students who lack these skills and pass them on to almost certain failure because they don't have the prerequisite education to be successful. Our graduation requirement is actually an entitlement for students to receive all the education they need no matter how many months or years it takes to become college and career ready. Opponents say the graduation requirement is a punishment.
Advocates assert that the real punishment is sending students to the next level knowing that they are unprepared to succeed. My view is that as far as education goes, we1061 are still very much a nation1063 at risk. We have a long way to go to achieve our goals, but our performance while currently plateauing is the envy of all the other states. To maintain our leadership, we must have the courage to retain high standards. We must hold on to our best in the nation's standards and tests. We need to have high standards, measure progress, and do something about the results. We owe this to our students. Having a graduation requirement sheds a spotlight on performance, makes performance matter, and especially on the inequities in our system. It dramatically reveals where we1100 need to work harder and improve and who needs our help.
It allows us to make comparisons by insisting on a common standard even if only that 10th grade standard. We need the sense of urgency necessary to guarantee that all our students are ready for college and career. We need to guarantee to our students, their parents, their colleges, their employers, and our taxpayers that a Massachusetts diploma means something. To deliver on this guarantee, we must stick to our guns to embrace the high standard that have made us the top performing state in the nation. We need a real high school graduation standard to get to our original goal of our original MBA ereport, every child a winner. All means all. I'm more than ever convinced that the health of our economy, our democracy, and our Commonwealth depend on it. Thank you very much for listening. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER1 - Thank you very much. Are there any questions from any members of the committee?
Thank you very much for your testimony. We greatly appreciate it. The, next, expert in the field that we will be hearing from is Robert Curtin, the chief officer for data assessment and accountability at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Mister Curtin.
SPEAKER6 - Thank you. Just try to get the presentation up. That'd be great.
ROBERT CURTIN - MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION - Thank you, Chair Friedman, Chair Peisch, and members of the Special Joint Committee on Initiative Petitions, thank you for the opportunity to testify about the use of the competency determination in Massachusetts. For the record, my name is Rob Curtin. I'm the chief officer of data assessment and accountability at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, where I've been employed since January 2002. My intention today is to provide some foundational information for the committee about the competency determination. I prepared a presentation that is meant1227 to provide facts about the history, use, and results of the competency determination, and to answer any questions you may have.
My testimony should not be construed in any way as reflecting a position on the proposed initiative petition today. I want to, take a few slides here. I prepared this presentation. I want to take a few slides just to set some baseline information from everybody, on a very complicated topic, but I think it's important that everybody, has a foundational understanding of the issues here at hand. So, what we're talking about today is the competency determination that currently, right now, is based in, the MCAS. That MCAS administration, administering the MCAS to our students is required by federal law to be administered to all students in grades three through eight and grade 10. It is required by state law to be administered to students in fourth, eighth, and 10th grade as well. It currently serves as the only consistent statewide measure of student achievement for students in grades three through eight and grade 10.
It is also the only assessment right now that is aligned to and designed based on our1304 Massachusetts curriculum frameworks. It1306 is the consistent measure that we have to talk about how our students are doing across the Commonwealth. One of the big misconceptions about the MCAS is how it developed. I think it's important to note that, many believe and many have spoken that, perhaps it's the MCAS is developed in, at the DESE offices, in a conference room at DESE, or perhaps by our contractor, and nothing could be further from the truth. Okay? The MCAS is developed on an annual basis with the work of over 250 Massachusetts public school teachers. No item goes on to the MCAS without the design and approval of a panel of Massachusetts public school teachers. So in terms of the competency determination, the graduation requirement, just to lay it out for everybody, everybody's clear on what the graduation requirements are in Massachusetts.
In order to receive a Massachusetts high school diploma, students must do, at least two, perhaps three things. The first is to meet all the local graduation requirements of the school district, that are set by the individual school districts. The second is to earn a competency determination from the state. Third, for students with1398 disabilities, districts are required by federal law to provide a free appropriate public education, often known1404 as FAPE. Those are the three graduate tools, maybe three graduation requirements that are in place for all students across the Commonwealth. In the absence of the CD, so if the competency determination was not in place, and we go back to the previous slide where the first two were local requirements and the competency determination. In the absence of the1432 competency determination, only the local graduation requirements would apply.
As, Professor Reville, said, that would lead to, many districts having many different graduation requirements. To show this today, I've put up for you three unnamed Massachusetts public high schools and the graduation requirements that are associated with those three high schools. So in the school on the left, you'll see that the graduation requirements are that students need to pass 100 credits. They're not defined except for the fact that four years of English, two years of US history, and students must pass physical education. In school B, you'll see that the district and the school have taken that further. There are additional requirements, English, math, science, foreign language, arts, additional core courses, and physical education. Then you go to the student, school C, and you'll see that those requirements are taken even further.
Where you have a computer science requirement, you have a community service requirement, you have an after-school club participation requirement. But this is all to show that in the absence of the competency determination, we are left with local graduation requirements only,1510 and those graduation requirements vary greatly. What you lose is the consistent thread, the minimum threshold of meeting a competency determination, as Professor Reville said, of the 10th-grade, standard. Instead, you're left with local requirements that vary greatly across some 350 high schools across the Commonwealth. When we think about the national landscape, okay, so where does Massachusetts stand about other states, and how do they deal with this issue? You'll see here we've accounted for 51 localities, 50 states, plus DC. 49 of those states have state-mandated requirements. Two states that do not have state requirements.
One is sort of partial as a partial requirement and one has no state requirement. So 48 states have comprehensive state requirements. Nine of those states require a core curriculum assessment. So if you think of English, math, and science something in that realm.In addition, nine states require civics assessment to graduate. So you have 18 states that require students to pass some sort of assessment to graduate from high school. We are one of those 18. Where we are unique is that Massachusetts has only the requirement of passing an assessment. We do not have the course requirements that 48 other states have. We have a recommended core curriculum that many districts have adopted,1617 but we do not have the mandated course requirements that many states have.1621 We only have the assessment portion1623 of the requirement.
Absent the CD, as we were saying, we'd be dealing with local requirements. We would be outside of that blue bar and not be part of what 96% of other states have in terms of mandated state requirements of some sort. I certainly won't go through this line by line. Professor Reville brought us through some of the history here, but you'll have access to this presentation just to give some of the important milestones that, came along with the competency determination and the development thereof. This all started, in 1993 with the passage of the Education Reform Act, and the first MCAS test was not given until 1998 the test takes a it's in three to five-year period.The first class that was held to the graduation requirement was the class of 2003. That standard stayed in place until 2006 when it was revised to start with the class of 2010 when science was included and the EPP, the Educational Proficiency Plan, was included as well.
We'll talk about that in a minute, what the Educational Proficiency Plan is. We went through,1705 a series of, many years after that. We were supposed to think about what the new standard for competency determination might be, but COVID got in the way of this as well as many other things, across society. So we had to, adopt an interim standard with the because we had the new MCAS, and we aligned the standard on the new MCAS to what it was on the old MCAS. In the spring of 2019, we administered the first grade 10 next-generation tests in ELA and math. That is the assessment that we use right now. The next generation of MCAS was first administered in 2019. Because of COVID, we've had to make a series of adjustments. The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education took various steps to, modify the CD process because there was a cancellation of the assessment in 2020.
Then in 2020, we began the important process of convening a CD advisory committee. We had1779 experts. Professor Reville was a member1781 of that CD advisory committee. We had experts who allowed us, that helped us think about what the CD level should be moving forward. In 2022, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education set a new CD standard for the classes of 26, and beyond. So how do students earn a competency determination? This is as Professor Revels says, this is not a one-day, one-test thing. The easiest and most common way for students to earn a competency determination is to earn a qualifying c score at the CD level on their first attempt at the regular administration of the MCAS. For the overwhelming majority of students, this is how they earn the CD. The first time they take the test, they earn the qualifying score and then they never have to take it again.
The second way is to earn a qualifying score at the EPP level, on their first attempt and then to complete the educational proficiency plan locally. It's important to note here, that if a student's score meets the qualifying score of the EPP level, they no longer have to take the MCAS again. They just have to have an individualized plan at the district level, and that will allow them to earn the competency determination. After that, you can earn a qualifying score at the EPP level on a series of retests. Then there are also appeals processes. There's a transcript appeal, a cohort appeal or a portfolio appeal primarily used for students with disabilities. There are any one of those three appeal opportunities available1880 to districts that are outside of1882 the MCAS. So that would be looking at, student work. We'll talk a little bit about that in a second.
We also have, mechanisms in place for students who move into Massachusetts after1894 the final retest opportunity. So we make sure we have something to cover there, and we also have a mechanism in place1900 for students in military families that move into the state under the Valor Act, so that we, can use their previous coursework to help them, earn the competency determination. So what are the competency determination requirements? In 2024 and 25, we are we've kind of gotten past the COVID period. So students in the class of 24 and 25, have the CD requirements. These are the core requirements right now where you see the arrows. It's important to note that what you see in front of you are the four achievement levels on MCAS. For those of you who have students in the system, you've often seen the parent reports that come home.
These are the four achievement levels not meeting expectations, partially meeting expectations, meeting1950 expectations, or exceeding expectations. It's important to1954 note before we even get into what you need to do1956 for the CD, that the number of questions that a student needs to get right to fall into each one of these1963 categories is determined by panels of Massachusetts educators. They help us. They're called standard-setting panels. They're the ones who make the decisions about what should a student know to fall into each one of these achievement categories. This is not something that is the commissioner ultimately they make the recommendations to the commissioner, and the commissioner has adopted their recommendations of what it takes to fall into one of these achievement level categories.
Those decisions are made and recommended by Massachusetts Public School. So right now for the class of 2024, you'll see that students need to attain at least a 455. That's the EPP level. That is in the not meeting expectations category. It's in the lowest achievement level on the MCAS. For ELA, for the full CD level, students need to get 472. So if a student gets 455, they no longer need to take the MCAS again, even though they're in the lowest category right now for the class of 24,25. They just need to complete a locally administered EPP and do not have to take the MCAS again. For math, the standard is a little higher. It is at the 469 level for the EPP. Again, it's in the lowest achievement level in the not meeting expectations category. To earn the full CD and not2053 have to do an EPP, students need to attain 486.
This work is what the CD advisory committee did to align these efforts on the MCAS and for the competency determination moving forward. Last summer, the board of elementary and secondary education adopted the new CD requirements for the classes of 2026 and beyond. What they've done is they've aligned the efforts for ELA math and science. You'll see here that what the new requirement is, is for steed for students to get out of the lowest achievement level on the MCAS. To not be in the meeting not meeting expectations category to get a 470, then students, have to do is not take the MCAS again, but complete a locally administered EPP. To earn the competency determination. If students get to 486 on ELA or math, then they've earned the full CD and do not have to do an EPP. A little bit about the EPP, cause it's really important here.
We often talk about competency determination and what the requirements are associated with MCAS, but the EPP is important. Students that score at that EPP level, the minimum level right now which is in the lowest achievement category on the MCAS, are required to complete a locally administered EPP. They don't have to take the MCAS again. They are done with their MCAS testing. The components of the EPP are important. It requires a review of the student's strengths and weaknesses, in the subjects in which they have failed to meet the CD level. It requires that the districts have conversations with the students about the courses they need to take to become more proficient in the particular subject in which they haven't met the requirements. It requires a description of what assessments they're going to take to see if they've met the proficiency level, but that does not have to be the MCAS. That can be a locally designed assessment.
As I mentioned, once students have the opportunity to take the first administration of the MCAS and subsequent retest opportunities. There are appeal options beyond taking a test. We have three different types of appeals that student can the districts can file on behalf of a student to help them earn their competency determination, and they are not associated with taking the test again. The cohort appeal is the most common, and what this does is look at the comparison of the grade point average in MCAS scores for students for whom the appeal is filed as compared to at least six other students in the school. Say that you have a GPA that is similar to other students who have scored well, who have met the CD requirement on MCAS, and your GPA is similar to those kids who have met the requirement, then can we grant an appeal, what's called the cohort appeal, and the student will2236 earn the CD.
2238 The2238 one requirement we do have here is that students cannot have, a GPA below 1.0. That's a minimum standard for us for the cohort appeal, but it's a way of not about taking a test. It is about how students are doing in their courses, and we grant on average about two-thirds to 70% of the cohort appeals that are filed. For students with disabilities, we have a portfolio appeal where student work samples can be submitted. We can look at a portfolio of work samples for, students who have not earned a competency determination. That's another type of appeal. Then again, as I mentioned, we also have a mechanism to look at transcripts from other states for late arrivals to Massachusetts or military families. So this is all to say that there is the first time a student takes a test in 10th grade, but there are multiple opportunities and multiple mechanisms, both test-based and non-test-based, for students to earn the competency determination.
So as students take the test, let's just walk through an example here of what might happen. I'm using the class of 2019 as an example here. The reason for that is because of the pandemic, and we were disrupted severely, in our assessment schedule. So going back to sort of the last like sort of full class that where the CD was applicable as2322 it, as it pertains to MCAS. So if you look at the start of 12th grade, you had kids, you had 70,000, almost 71,000 students that were in the class at the beginning of their 12th grade. 88% of those students earned the competency determination on their first attempt leaving 8,000 or so students who had not earned the competency determination. As I play through this, okay, you'll see I'm looking at multiple attempts at taking the MCAS. What you see happens is that more and more students have earned their CD.
Up to four additional times to take the test. So the point here is there are multiple opportunities for students to take the MCAS and it works for students. More and more kids as they take the retest, as they've taken classes, to help in their development and the knowledge and skills assessed on this on the MCAS, more and more students are earning the C date. We then have the appeals process for the class of 2019, 472 students earned their competency determination through the appeals process. That left 2,752 students who had not earned a CD at that point in the process. A very important point here, and that is almost 4% of that 12, original 71,000 that we were talking about. However, just over 2,000 of those students had not also met the local requirements. So, if you go back to my original slide, what does it take to be a graduate? Right?
Meet the local requirements and earn the CD from the state. 2,000 of those students had not met either one of those. What is left is 702 students from the class of 2019. Less than 1% of that original 7100, who had who did who had not earned a competency determination, but had met the local requirements. Those students earn what is called the certificate of attainment. This is the true number of students who were not able to graduate as a result of not earning the competency determination. For the class of 2019, that number was 702, less than 1% of the 71,000 in the class at the beginning of the 12th grade. When we look at those 702 students, who are they? You'll see it says 1%. It rounds up to 1% there. It's just below 1% of students overall who are not earning the CD and meet local requirements.
So truly, it is the state competency determination that's stopping those students from graduating. You'll see the numbers down here, I've broken them out by all the student groups here. There is undoubtedly a higher percentage of, this in certain populations. If you look at, for example, English learners, 281 students did not earn a CD as a result but did meet local requirements. That is out of 3,642 English learners who were in the class. So the remainder of those were not prohibited from graduating as a result of the state competency determination and the MCAS. As I said, 702 students, less than 1% of the enrolled 12th graders could have graduated in 2019. Only 114 of those students, of that 702 had an appeal filed on their behalf. What this means is that not all of the pathways for these students were exhausted.
Now it might be that those students had a GPA of below 1.0, so districts knew that they were not going to be granted an appeal. But there were certainly students that had the eligibility for an appeal to be filed for them and that appeal was not filed. An important note is also about the 702 students. 184 of those students took the MCAS Alt. That is the alternate assessment part of the MCAS that is designed specifically for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. That is 26% of the entire 702 students. So one quarter of the 702 students took the MCAS Alt. Students taking the MCAS Alt cannot earn the CD through the MCAS Alt. The reason for that is that the MCAS Alt measures performance significantly below grade level standards.
So those students would need to submit a portfolio appeal in order to earn the CD. They're taking the test because it's required by federal law. But you cannot earn a CD through the MCAS Alt because it measures, performance significantly below grade level. So the point there is to say is that of the 702, 26% of those,2660 a quarter of those are not actually on the MCAS track to earn a CD. They would2664 have to do a portfolio anyway in order to2666 earn a CD. So the number of kids that are truly prevented by a, because of taking the MCAS is lower than 702. So I hope that this has provided a foundational base, for you, and at this point, I'm happy to take any questions that you may have concerning, the competency determination, its use, or what I've presented here in the Commonwealth. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER1 - Thank you. Are there any questions from, any members of the committee? Senator Lewis?
SEN LEWIS - Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Mr. Curtin. This may be the first time that anyone understands the entire process end to end here. So thank you for, covering it in so much detail. Appreciate it. I'm just curious, as to looking forward, to the updated cut scores that the board approved, last year, which go into effect in class 2026, which, you know, are significant increases, you know, in those required scores, both for the EPP and the full passing. How do you project, or was any analysis done to project how many students, are likely to not achieve the CD as a result of those higher requirements compared to what you just shared with us, which is historical data from 2019.
CURTIN - Sure. I appreciate the question, Senator Lewis. I don't have those numbers in front of me or the top of my head. What I can say to direct back to the CD advisory committee where we had, a lot of experts help us out. That committee ultimately, you know, coming out of that was real thinking of the idea of the EPP cut being in the not meeting expectations category. Right? Was something that, the commissioner and the board of elementary and secondary education needed to, consider. It is an increase, in ELA. In math, it's one point, and they're two point increments on the MCAS,2807 so it's no increase in math. But there is an increase in ELA2811 for sure. We are, you know we haven't gotten to the class of 2026 yet. Those students will be taking the MCAS, momentarily. In the coming weeks. But, certainly, the ELA cut is higher for the EPP. We will have to, at the department, make sure that we're devoting the appropriate attention to our assistance efforts and helping districts think about the EPP, to be able to help those, students get across the finish line. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER9 - Thank you. Thank you.
SPEAKER1 - Senator Fenton.
SEN FATTMAN - Thank you, Mr. Curtin, and thank you again for the presentation. It was very comprehensive and helpful. You gave us the data from 2019. The requirements existed since 03. Is it universal that 1% or less has been the case?
CURTIN - Yes. Thank you for the question. Historically speaking, you know, we particularly went back and looked at the five-year now. We did a five-year analysis and the number ranged somewhere between 700 and 800 every year, right around 1% of the class, that were, meeting local requirements, not receiving a diploma, only because they hadn't earned a CD.
FATTMAN - Okay. Then just on another topic, you've mentioned the standard-setting panels. Can you expound a little bit about how they're put together?
CURTIN - Sure. So we put out a request for teachers to help us and in every grade subject have a panel of educators. About 10. So the third grade ELA test has a panel. The fourth grade ELA test has a test. What they do is painstaking work that I cannot thank them for enough, in developing items, developing the wording of the items, and thinking about how students are going to interact with the item and how they're going to be able to answer the question. Then all of those items after they are developed, and field-tested, are approved by those panels to go on to a test. So as I said, every item that goes on to an MCAS test has been designed and approved, in concert with a panel of Massachusetts public school teachers. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER2- Senator.
SEN FRIEDMAN - Thank you for the presentation. I noticed, though, that there was a high percentage of English language learners. Are we testing whether they can speak English, or are we testing whether they're competent in the subject matter? How do you make that determination?
CURTIN - Right. So, we are not testing whether they are competent in English. We have an English language proficiency test that does that for our multilingual learners. That is called Access. That's a different assessment. The 10th-grade MCAS assessment in ELA is testing against the English language arts standards. It measures more than speaking or being able to speak English. It measures the ability to meet those standards including reading, and writing.
FRIEDMAN - Okay. But how do you know that? I mean, do you do the test in any other language?
CURTIN - Yes. We do. The English test is in English. The math and science tests are, available in Spanish.
FRIEDMAN - Okay. So English is really around proficiency in the language. Right? Because if you can't speak the language, you can't make the assimilations. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER1 - thank you. Yep. Representative Day and then representative Gordon, I believe, have questions.
REP DAY - Thank you, Chair Peisch, and Mr Curtin, thanks for the presentation. Just wanted a clarification question. On an earlier slide, you had shown the three different A, B, and C schools on local requirements. Just clarify, those aren't hypotheticals. Correct? Those are actively current local requirements from three different school districts?
CURTIN - That's correct.
DAY - Presumably you can match up your numbers here on who's meeting local requirements but not meeting the MCAS and therefore not graduating, you can match those up with those districts. Correct? You'd be able to get down to that.
CURTIN - We know where the 702 students go to school if that's what you're asking. That's correct. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER2 - Yeah.
SPEAKER4 - Thank you.
REP GORDON - Thank you very much. Again, this was a very comprehensive presentation. I thank you for it. I have just a few questions about the time that students are spending taking the test. Because you had a slide about the number of chances they have to take the test. So first of all, are they given during the school day?
CURTIN - Yes.
GORDON - So I assume that the first time the test is given,3118 all their classmates are doing the same thing. So the school day is interrupted.3122 But, subsequent tests, first of all, how long does it take to take the test?
CURTIN - Yes. So, you know, testing time, I appreciate that question very much. Testing time is something we're always looking at, and something that we want to try to, you know, minimize as much as possible while still having a valid and reliable assessment. Currently, the average student spends about nine hours taking the English, and math assessments. That nine hours is critical, in my mind, and the reason for that is, as I'm sure, you know, the student learning time regulations call for 900 hours of instruction, for elementary students and 990 for secondary students. So nine hours is important, at least to me, in terms of being about 1% of the required amount of instruction that takes place. But we are always looking to especially in ELA, frankly, the ELA test has surpassed the math test in terms of length, and we're always looking to design the test in a way that minimizes test time as much as possible.
GORDON - So when they take subsequent tests, do they have to get pulled out of class to do that?
CURTIN - So, the short answer to that would be yes. The retests are not obviously, not given school-wide because they're targeted for students that need to take it. I would say usually, students are taking that in sort of a separate, sort of, pull-out, if you will, for those students that need to take the test.
GORDON - Is there any opportunity for students to take a retest at a different time? For example, outside the school day.
CURTIN - You mean outside the school day? I would say right now, the answer to that would be no, but, I think, right now, we require it to be, during the school3237 day.
GORDON- If an appeal is presented, is that done at the school, or is3241 that done somewhere else?
CURTIN - The appeal is submitted to the superintendent, I think, who ultimately signs off on the appeal. The district submits the appeal and sends documentation to the department, and then we have staff that goes over, each of the appeals that come in and weigh in on whether or not they should be granted or not.
GORDON - So that doesn't take away classroom costs?
CURTIN - That's absolutely not. That's a district function. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER7 - Okay. Alright. Thank you.
SPEAKER6 - You're welcome.
SPEAKER9 - Senator Feeney.
SEN FEENEY - Thank you, Madam Chair. I just want to follow up on the questions of my previous colleague who was, talking about timing. Nine hours total time for MCAS. How was that broken up? Is it that you said English is a little bit longer?
CURTIN - Yes. So, the English because there are two sessions to each test, and, the total ELA time is closer to the four-hour range. So we give it in multiple sessions. Now, again, that's average and I want to be fair, some kids take more and kids take less. But we are always, like I said, always looking at ways to improve the test to minimize, test-taking time.
FEENEY - When during the school year is the test administered typically?
CURTIN - So ELA, starts, pretty soon, and is in April. Typically, math is in May, and science is in May or early June.
FEENEY - Okay. Has it been administered at other times historically during the school year? Is there any sort of relation to when the test is taken, relative to success?
CURTIN - No. That's pretty much when the assessment schedule has remained constant at least as far back as I can remember. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER14 - Okay. Thank you. Thank you, madam3357 chair.
SPEAKER1 - Representative here.
REP VIEIRA - Thank you, Madam Chair. Mr. Curtin, I don't know if this is, I'm not sure who else is going to testify today, so I don't know if I'm asking the right person the right question, but competency determination was a very specific term of art in this legislation. The legislation also talks about where practicable, especially in the case where student performance is difficult to assess3389 using conventional mess methods, such instruments shall include consideration of work3395 samples, projects, and portfolios, and shall facilitate authentic and direct gauges of student performance. When your expert teams are together looking at upgrading the comprehensive assessment system, are these other methods in play? Have there been discussions about utilizing this type of portfolio assessment? Have some standardized grading metrics or rubrics that could be used statewide. So what we call the MCAS test is the MCAS competency determination in a different form?
CURTIN- Yes. So, thank you for the question. First, I think, you know, the mechanism that you're speaking of is what we try to do in the appeals process. Right? Is to look at different work samples as a way to be able to assess competency,3456 other than through the test.
3458 VIEIRA-3458 I3458 noticed your second one was portfolio appeal.3460 But what about testing?
CURTIN - Right. Yes. So, the other thing is, you know, we are, as people may know, we are working toward working on the development and thinking about what assessment looks like moving forward. We're not wed to the current design. We have, innovative assessments that are being developed and field tested right now in science and in civics, for example, that include that look different and include different types of, ways to assess. We're always as I said, one of the things that we are always looking to do is to improve the assessment, in any way we can. Ultimately, we are measuring the standards at which we're supposed to be assessed, but we are always looking at a way to be able to do consistently better ways to be able to do that consistently across the state.
REP PEISCH - Thank you. I have a question, related to the distribution of those 700. Can you give us a sense of whether are these more3531 or less evenly distributed at 1% in each district? Are they more concentrated?
CURTIN- Yes. So there are 124 districts. Those 702 students are in 124 districts. They average about six students, and many have one or two. There are those at the, at the top of the distribution, that have I think the most in any is, 50, I think is the most of the particular district. Boston in the class of 2019 at seven. But then it is distributed across the state. There are just different circumstances, with different students. It is not just for example, there are, I think, 15 districts that represent half of the distribution. So there is concentration at the top, but there are it is spread out among 124 districts in total.
PEISCH - Out of a total of how many districts?
CURTIN - That has a high school in 330 some-odd districts. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER1 - Thank you. Seeing no further questions, I thank you very much for your time. This has been very instructive. Thank you
SPEAKER6 - very much for having me.
SPEAKER1 - The, next person that we have invited to to testify is, doctor Schreich, who is currently the superintendent of the Salem Public Schools. And maybe you could give a little, introduction as to what your experience has been, in Massachusetts as a Sure. Superintendent.
STEPHEN ZRIKE - SALEM PUBLIC SCHOOLS - Thank you for having me, Chair Friedman, and Chair Peisch, and to the rest of the committee. My name's Steve Zrike. I'm the current superintendent of the Salem Public Schools. Previously, I was a superintendent receiver of schools in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Before that, I was a superintendent of schools in Wakefield, Massachusetts. Before that, I was a long-time principal in the Boston Public Schools. So I come to you, with a lot of experience in the state of Massachusetts, and I wanted to share my thoughts about utilizing the MCAS as a graduation requirement. My thoughts are informed by my 25 years as an educator in the Commonwealth, as a teacher, principal, and as a superintendent, as I shared before. Over the last 10 and a half years, I've been the superintendent of schools.
I've worked in Eastern Mass, as I mentioned, in Western Massachusetts, and then both in city and suburban school districts. Then I would be remiss not to share that my perspective is also shaped by being a parent whose oldest child will be in a Massachusetts public high school next year as well. So as I reflect, on the initiative before the joint committee, I believe that a common graduation requirement is needed with some exceptions. So let me clarify a little bit about what I mean. I think we do need a common language as a Commonwealth about what minimal preparation looks like for college and career for both. An assessment like the MCAS has done that for3707 us and has given a degree of certainty that every graduate across the state has achieved a, defined3713 standard. It does unify us as a system so that at the very least, we have one comparable and unbiased data point across communities.
Communities who, as Rob mentioned, have unique identities and hold on to Massachusetts, we do hold on to our local traditions and educational approaches. It is the only way that we know that a diploma means something across cities and towns in Massachusetts. While the differences between communities should be valued and continue to be honored, our industry needs to have some consistent and common measures that allow us to gauge the readiness of our young. In my opinion, the readiness standard should be attached to a graduation requirement, not because I think districts should be punished, but because without some accountability, I do worry about the motivation to get students prepared for the world beyond high school.
In my experience, and as I can only go based on my experience, I've observed and been part of too many3773 schools and systems where students,3775 particularly students of color and low-income students, become casualties of cultures with low expectations and nebulous standards for success. Historically, marginalized students can ill afford to return to the years before education reform, which, Paul Reville spoke to, where there were tremendous inequities connected to an uneven understanding of what being at or above grade level truly entailed. Attaching stakes to the assessment ensures that districts, schools, educators, and students will take preparation seriously and that all students across the Commonwealth will receive instruction that is minimally focused on a set of high-leverage competencies. Ultimately, very few students, as Rob referred to, across the state do not graduate because of MCAS.
During my time as superintendent in Holyoke, Salem, and Wakefield, most students who did not graduate dropped out before senior year, or could not meet the local graduation requirements. Those who did not graduate with a diploma fell into the following categories. Again, this is just my experience. Students with significant disabilities, level one to three, multilingual learners, and or immigrant students with interrupted instruction. I do think it's unfair to require students with these profiles to pass the MCAS. We know it takes students five to seven years to learn a second language, and some students have disabilities that, by their definition, prevent them from reaching grade-level proficiency. It makes little sense to have these students continually retest and become increasingly frustrated, and ultimately disengaged by an expectation that is near impossible for them to attain.
Again, I do think those are small numbers of students, but in those cases, we should allow students to pursue a competency determination, like is done with students from military families, or through the appeal process that Rob spoke of. Additionally, we should look at using a growth metric, to capture students who are making strong progress towards proficiency on MCAS retest or access testing which again were referenced before. Again, given that we are talking about a small number of students, it's possible to design an alternative that is both manageable to administer and narrowly focused on supporting those students who clearly need an exception.
The MCAS as a graduation requirement can certainly evolve and be refined to better capture readiness for the workforce in higher education, but it should not be eliminated as a graduation requirement. Removing the requirement for a diploma would result in regression, setting us back in our efforts to deliver young people to successfully enter and thrive in3927 a world beyond our high schools. While starting from scratch would be unproductive and negatively impact countless children, I think we should leverage3935 this moment to strengthen and enhance the tool, so that our Commonwealth is best positioned to have a diverse population of educated and skilled workers. That concludes my comments. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER1 - Thank you. Are there, any questions? Senator Friedman.
FRIEDMAN - Could you just repeat, the three exceptions that you mentioned?
ZRIKE - Sure. I referenced students with disabilities. I mentioned, multilingual learners who are levels one to three, students with significant disabilities, and immigrant students with interrupted instruction. We have several slife students or students with interrupted instruction3975 that I worry about as well. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER16 - Any other,
SPEAKER1 - Any other yes. Senator Feeney.
FEENEY - Thank you, Madam Chair. Just one quick question for clarification. You had mentioned, in testimony, and thank you by the way for your public service and all3992 you've done for students, in many locations across the Commonwealth. You mentioned that3998 there may be students who would be unable to pass the MCAS requirement for graduation and drop out before the senior year. In your opinion, is there any causation there? So in other words, does a student lose hope that because they won't be4012 able to get through that metric they4014 drop out, or is it I guess it's kind of a chicken and the egg question?
ZRIKE - But It certainly can be a factor. I do think that past the MCAS can be daunting4023 for some children who do drop out. So that is something to be considered. However, I think many of our students drop out after, during their ninth-grade year, or following their ninth-grade year, which is before they take the MCAS, and there's a whole host of factors. But you know, I'd be lying if I didn't think that the MCAS could be one factor in that decision for young people. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER14 - Thank you, superintendent. Appreciate it. Thank you, mister chair.
SPEAKER1 - Senator Lewis.
LEWIS - Thanks, Madam Chair. Thank you, superintendent. It's always great to see you. I appreciate it also, I want to echo your appreciation for all your service. For those three categories that you singled out, can you just say a little bit more about what you would think would be fair and practical alternative ways to determine that they should indeed receive a high school diploma?
ZRIKE - Yes. I mean, I think4075 looking at ways to examine growth, I mean, I'm a big believer in the growth metrics that we do have a state. I look at the MCAS. I look for much more growth than I do at achievement levels because it does tell us if we're moving children, and wherever they start. I think that's a metric that districts should be held more accountable to than, you4092 know, the firm achievement level. So I would want to see that students are being, that are demonstrating growth and moving towards levels of proficiency. But if you take a multilingual learner who takes five to seven years to gain proficiency in their, second language, a student arrives in a high school in ninth or 10th grade, there's no way they're going to be able to pass an ELA MCAS at that point. Again, those are a small number of students. But in places like Salem and Holyoke, we do have we did have and do have a number of those young people. So I would want to look at other ways of demonstrating that they are moving in their academic performance to be able to issue them a diploma. Because I think the stakes for not having a diploma are also very high for young people as well.
PEISCH - I just have a follow-up in this same general area. How would you distinguish between, the students who have disabilities who otherwise would continue until 22? I'd be concerned about cutting off that opportunity.
ZRIKE - I do think there to better define who are the students that take the MCAS Alt, for example, I know there's a push to get more students off the MCAS Alt, so they take the MCAS. But I think if we get clear around which students have which learning profiles, are, taking the MCAS Alt and, allowing those students to demonstrate to a portfolio assessment. Many of the students who keep in our systems to 22 fit that criterion. I do think those students should be, be given a diploma, and be allowed to graduate. I do think we have to have clearer parameters of who fits into that profile because4205 I wouldn't want districts to take advantage and schools4207 to take advantage of having too many students on an MCAST Alt.4211 But4211 there, each of our districts does have students that fit a profile, that are, you know, become our post-high students, as you 18 to 22-year-olds. Those students, in my opinion, there should be a way for them to demonstrate, you know, through a portfolio assessment of some kind that they have met, certain criteria. To me, they should be, allowed, to graduate and be given a diploma from the institution. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER1 - Seeing no further questions, we4242 thank you very much for your testimony.
SPEAKER17 - Appreciate it.
SPEAKER1 - We are now, moving into the next, section of the hearing, where we will be hearing from, proponents of the ballot question. And, first, we have a panel. And I'm gonna, just sort of, explain the process for this section of the hearing. We have 3 panels for the, proponents. I'd ask the panels, to, introduce themselves, and we and ask committee members to hold their questions until after each panel is finished. And we have some fairly tight time constraints, so I don't wanna interrupt the panels during their, during their presentations. So the first panel is, Max Page, Deb McCarthy, and Becky Pringle.
MAX PAGE - MASSACHUSETTS TEACHERS ASSOCIATION - Good afternoon. My name is Max Page and I'm president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association. Our union represents 117,000 public school and college educators in virtually every city and town in Massachusetts. I'm proud to lead the union of frontline educators who are the true experts in public education. I'm so pleased to be here with our vice president, Deb McCarthy, and the president of the NEA, Becky Pringle. We are united in demanding an end to the punitive, high-stakes testing regime that distorts students learning in every school by creating a test and punish culture that undermines the professional expertise of our educators, and year after year harms 100 students who are denied a diploma simply for not passing some portion of a standardized test.
I will go back to about what something that Mr. Revel said. The MCAS is not the standards, and indeed, the C in there is comprehensive. As Mr Beers said, it is not comprehensive. We have shared with you a short white paper that shows how few of our state standards are covered by the MCAS itself. I also feel like, as a historian, I teach at UMass Amherst, it is important that we not rewrite the history as it was done earlier today. 31 years ago, it was the MTA and its allies that won the McDuffie lawsuit, which brought us the state's Landmark Education Reform Act, of 1993. That Bill brought a massive infusion of funds, which dramatically improved the achievement of students across the state. The Bill also created universal, statewide standards that shaped curriculum and course assessments, teacher training programs, and professional development.
Before 1993, we did indeed have 351 different standards for graduation. But since then, we have created the gold standard of curriculum standards that other states seek to emulate. I will read you what is on the DESE website about these very extensive standards. The Massachusetts curriculum frameworks provide teachers, students, and families with clear and shared expectations for what all students should know and be able to do at the end of each year. They represent a promise of equitable education for all students. They formalize the expectation that all students in the Commonwealth have access to the same academic content regardless of their zip code, background, or abilities.
The standards apply to every single4457 district in our Commonwealth, and along4459 with funding, which we dramatically helped improve along with many of you, with the 2019 Student Opportunity Act, has helped us build the nation's finest public education system. In addition to state-wide standards for4473 curriculum, Massachusetts has highly educated educators guiding students through coursework and assessing their success at meeting those standards. It is these standards and our educator's work that create the value of a diploma from a Massachusetts public high school. It is not the MCAS that determines the value of a Massachusetts high school diploma.
I would also say as to Mr. Zrike who just spoke, these state standards are not nebulous at all. If you go through them, they are very detailed about what at each cohort students are to learn, and they guide everything that we do in our public schools. MTA members respect and teach to the highest standards, but our members deplore the failed experiment of high-stakes testing. We believe we need less high-stakes testing and more real learning in our schools. We hope that the legislature will cease fit to pass our ballot initiative this spring. But one way or another, by the end of 2024, we will have won what the educators, students, and parents have demanded. An end to the MCAS as a diploma-denying graduation requirement.
REBECCA PRINGLE - NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION - Good afternoon. Thank you to the Chairs and the committee. My name is Becky Pringle. I have the honor of serving as the President of the National Education Association, this nation's largest labor union, and the MTA, and its 117,000 members are part of the NEA. I am proud to be here with them today because the MTA is leading across this country in developing authentic and just assessments for our students. I will tell you that in our role, as an association, we are focused on making sure that every single student, everyone has the opportunities and the access and the support they need and deserve so they can fully pursue their wildest dreams and that we as educators can be focused on teaching and learning, not test preparation, which was not included in that total amount of time that we spend on testing.
Denying students, their high school diplomas simply because they failed to pass a single high state test, that is standardized is just wrong. The unjust MCAS test especially harms students of color and we saw that in some of the stats. Low-income students, English language learners, and disabled students. That harm can follow students out of the classroom and throughout their entire lives. We are against tying a graduation requirement to the MCAS because, unlike teacher classroom assessments, MCAS scores are not as accurate or complete or fair measures of student achievement. We should be focused on assessments that gather holistic and meaningful information to support students' learning and foster their confidence and curiosity, quality assessments that help identify our students' strengths and areas for growth.
Yet our students are subject to systems that continue to over-rely on high state tests and, that are standardized. Our students aren't standardized. When we depend too much on standardized tests, we aren't getting the full picture of our students' problem-solving abilities and their ability to think critically. We must overcome a system that has systemically ranked and sorted students by replicating and perpetuating racial and economic inequalities. Rather, we must create systems that incorporate assessments as relevant experiences. Assessments that value the assets4714 of our students, meet the needs of all students and center their full identities. Our students deserve to thrive in schools that allow them to live into their brilliance. To do that, we must begin by ending the high-stakes use of MCAS as a graduation requirement. Thank you.
DEB MCCARTHY - MTA - Hi. Deb McCarthy, Vice President of the MTA, and, earlier you heard from policy experts. I'm going to self-identify myself as an expert in best practices, in the classroom. I did want to just correct that average testing time. My experience, fifth grade, 10-year-olds, it's 15 hours. Because what happens is, that when the test is an ELA excuse me, an ELA test, that is three hours, the students have to sit in the room until all students finish it. So, it's 15 hours at the fifth-grade level. Yesterday, I was invited by the students of the Boston Workers Circle to watch a play that they had written about why the STRIVAC needs to be passed. This followed a weekend in Chicago where I was a presenter at the NEA's leadership summit on authentic student-centered assessment practices in the 21st century.
These two events represent why the MTA decided to bring forth a citizen's ballot initiative. Students, parents, educators, and community activists are making it clear that it is time to eliminate the high stakes of a test score. It is time to acknowledge that there is a difference between being a good test taker and mastering the high standards of the Massachusetts state frameworks. It is time to address the enormous disconnect between policy and what is being practiced in our schools. It is time to stop the cycle of harm that is preventing certain students with learning styles and background experiences from demonstrating the richness and diversity of their intelligence. It is time to listen to the students, to the educators, to the parents, to our national leaders, to go beyond the bubble, and to let our students thrive. Thank you. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER1 - Thank you. Are there any questions for the panel? Representative Gordon?
GORDON- Thank you. So, thank you for your presentation. I'm struggling4903 with the context of your presentation, which is that we heard that there are about 700 students a year. May, first of all, we heard that there are about 700 students here who are not passing the MCAS. We also heard some opinions that perhaps we could look at an alternative for the 700, or maybe we should be spending more time helping those 700. So is it your position that, motivates you that there are 700 students a year, let's say, 1% that don't pass the MCAS and then are prevented from graduating? Or is it your position that it's just taking something from the other 99% during the school year? If that's your position, then how is it or how would we, as a society, assess how we would not go back to a different standard for 351 districts on the Commonwealth? So those are all packed into that.
PAGE - Sure. Then others have comments. First I want to say one student is too many who is denied a diploma. Who otherwise has by evaluation of their teachers over the course of the year to melt multiple assessments, has decided this person, this student has mastered the subject to then have them only be denied a diploma because of that. One isn't there are too many. So 700 every single year.4992 But it's bigger than that. This is what I was saying at the very beginning. The system has distorted what happens in the classroom. When you say there is this high-stakes test every year, it's going to build towards that. It shapes what happens in the classroom. Frankly, in low-income districts is even more intensely that the whole curriculum is built around test prep. When we have in our goals for public education that comes out of the McDuffie case, the Education Reform Act, a much broader view of what our purpose of education is.
The MCAS, even if you thought it was a good test, only tests a narrow set of our curriculum standards. It fails to take a comprehensive look. That's part of what President Pringle was talking about, is that the NEA is leading on, and I think MTA is doing its part in rethinking the kinds of assessments and the kind of performance assessments that give us a broader sense of what schools are doing. We have a broad goal. I have three kids who went to the Hammers public schools where I went to school. I had a whole range of for them. Yes, of course, reading, writing, science, math, and we have a whole5059 other set. Again, I'll stop now, but I will I've always been inspired by I got some ways involved in this work because of what John Adams wrote in our constitution. The broad goals of what he wrote in that constitution about what the purpose of public education is are far beyond what is tested in this MCAS. I don't know if anyone else looking.
MCCARTHY - I would just add that there's a difference between a student demonstrating the depth of their knowledge of the Massachusetts state framework standards and answering test questions. It's two different skill sets. When people say we shouldn't be teaching to the test, the problem is you have to. Because you have to teach students how to look for the word, not in a multiple choice question because that's what will catch some of my dyslexic learners. Look for the answer in a picture. To compare and contrast a reading passage, and let's say the passage is on baseball, and you didn't understand the game. So then you have to teach them skills on how to look for that information within the text versus when a student does a performance assessment task and they can demonstrate the standards. Right.
So the other thing is for communities like mine, where there are issues around socio-economics, it's not just the MCAS. We test the students at the beginning of the school year, in December, before the MCAS. We now all have online programs that provide the skill sets to the test, and so it becomes an industry around a test score. As a parent of four who are out in the real world and are doing well, it is not because of their test scores. We are not educating 21st-century skills, and I have seven grandchildren who are now being deprived of the education that my kids got at the beginning because we were able to educate the whole child. Now it has become a focus on passing the test.
GORDON - You're not asking to eliminate the test.
MCCARTHY - No. The test will still be there.
GORDON - You want it eliminated as a graduation requirement.
MCCARTHY- Right.
GORDON- Well, your testimony earlier, and I think it was President Page's testimony, was that Massachusetts is respected as having among the highest, educational standards of success in public education in the nation. So we're doing something right. We will continue to administer this test, whether this passes or not. So I guess my question is, we're looking for it. I mean, wouldn't we address this problem with adjustments to the test as5254 opposed to the relief?
PAGE- So, for whatever value it may have to have a diagnostic test, if it's understood as that, that may provide a certain value. It is the high-stakes nature of this that distorts what happens in the classroom. I can tell you, that I was going to Amherst Regional High School way back deep in the 20th century before all this. But we had there were standardized tests that dropped in, but they dropped in and they went on. Maybe they provided some information for the teachers there, but they were not high stakes. We did not organize the classroom around them. The standards, however, should be the basis on which we organize the classroom experience. That is what our educators do every day. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER1 - Senator Friedman.
FRIEDMAN - Thank you. I'm sorry. So I hear what you're saying. I had three children who went through the public schools. They all had very different teachers. Some of them were amazing. Some of them were not so good. Just like anything in the whole world. Right? I hear you saying that you want a different assessment or we should have a different assessment. How do we ensure that assessment is the same across the board? If I get to have my assessment, and the Co-Chair gets to have her assessment, how do we ensure that my school district is supporting students to be able to function as opposed to depending on local boards to determine that, how do we ensure that we don't go back to what it used to be, which frankly was if you lived in x place, you got a great education. If you lived in your place, you didn't get such a good education. So how do you because this just says, leave it to the board? So how do we ensure what are you replacing, and how does that replacement be the same across the Commonwealth?
PRINGLE - So, I want to emphasize again, that it's the high stakes nature that has and we've seen this across the country. That has an impact on what educators, teach and the amount of time they spend on what they're teaching. But if you're and I certainly hope you will dig into authentic assessments. What we have seen nationally and what we are working on are, what Max mentioned before, performance-based assessments. We have already seen evidence that we can take a look at that student the progress of that student, individual student, the progress of that school, and how it relates to, the progress across a state or even across a nation. It's one of the reasons why we're partnering with the department and with specific states.
New York is a really good example of their performance-based assessments and they can do exactly what you're asking. But the difference between those assessments and others is that they are not being used as high-stakes assessments and they are designed in a way that, reflects the assets of students. Not only are assessments of learning, but they are also assessments for learning and assessments of learning. So it's the entire assessment process is kind of flipped on its head so that it's used to not just measure the individual progress of the student and the school, in the state, for me, for us, but also it's part of the learning process for the student as well as for the educator and the parents.
FRIEDMAN - Yes. I guess that when I'm looking at this ballot question, this ballot question says that the local boards will determine what that is. So if this happens, I think you get your turn. If that happens, then how does that where does that assessment come and take place? Do we wait? Do we you know, I'm reading the language of this, and it's saying don't you know that won't be the high stakes, but the local schools will determine local systems will determine what that is. So that's my question how did that happen in that gap, or if we don't ever meet that gap? Right? We don't close that gap.
PAGE - Sure. I remember you saying, I guess, it is the ballot issue is pretty clear. It is not it is it is frankly disinformation that's been spread by a few to suggest that there would be just, you know, open season. Any word could do what they want. We have state standards. Every district must follow that DESE regulates licensure, teacher training programs, and the like. So in other words, every district would develop has to, as they do now, because they all have curriculum standards that would make sure that students are assessing that. Over and over studies show that the educator's evaluation of their students throughout many assignments and ways of looking at them is a better assessment overall of, student achievement than a test score. So that is where we come down. Yes. Of course.
5584 MCCARTHY5584 -5584 I5584 just wanted to add, to the conversation.5586 The districts,5588 I think there's a 160, who are requiring the MassCore, and the requirements there. There's really good data there. So that would also be part of the conversation.
PAGE - Let me just take one last point on this. I think part of the conversation emerges just feel like it's important to emphasize, that it is a mirage that the MCAS is somehow a comprehensive assessment. It just isn't. I think many people, even at DESE, would acknowledge that. It is not assessing our full state standards. Our standards are very rich and detailed, and the MCAS gets a slice of that. Even if you think the test is great, we do not think, as Deb has described, it is a good, reflection, actually, of student learning. But even if you felt that way, it is a very narrow slice of our full state standards. So what President Pringle was talking about is this broader movement. We have some of the leading experts, the MCIA and Jack Schneider and the like who are who are developing these alternatives that have shown to be very, very effective. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER1 - There any other questions from members of the committee? Representative Day.
DAY - Thank you, Chair Peisch. Just following up on the Chair's questions on what would happen. I'm focused on the language of the proposed ballot initiative here. Satisfactorily completing coursework has been certified by the student's district. It's showing mastery of the skills, etcetera, from the academic standards curriculum framework around the state. We're looking at 331 different standards here when we come out when a school district says, hey look. We think that we meet the threshold with the MCAS, so we're going to use that in our district here. Stoneman says, no. We've got our coursework here. We're going to use that. It meets the curriculum, the statewide curriculum. We're checking all the boxes there. So we're going to use the passing of our classes there as the test. I mean, to me, the language itself is fairly wide open if this were to pass as I read it. The plain English of that language gives that freedom to these districts as I read this thing, to say, we're going to determine what it is that meets the requirements here, as opposed to a statewide benchmark on this thing. Right? Are we looking at 330 plus different standards here? Why not if not?
PAGE - I'll just be very brief, and I'll turn to Deb. I mean, I think it's respectful, we have state standards. Educators communities and school boards have to follow those state data and have to develop a curriculum that responds to that. It is real. It is what shapes so much. So it's not 330 different. There each, district and each educator will develop and teach history, you know, US history in their way, but it has to align with state standards. So there are very rigorous states in it. The MCAS, again, is not a standard. You even heard that from people on the other side. The MCAS is not a standard. It is a kind of measure of some portion of those standards.
MCARTHY - The last thing that I would just say to this, is it's not as if a student passes the MCAS in 10th grade, and that's all they have to do. We already have these high standards in place. In many of your districts, when you go to DESE, I think it was a 160. That second piece follows the mass core. There is some really good data out there, on what districts are using the mass core competency as part of it. It's we have it. It's you do what I'm saying?
DAY - I do. Here's what I'm struggling with. The presentation earlier we saw from the data side of things showed me A, B, and C, school districts. A was about as low as you get from just the generic stats we saw up there. C was through5828 the roof. Right? I mean, that was the that was the intent of that slide. It resonated. I look at it as A, and I'm saying, I5834 just have to hit my C level in these classes. I look at C, I got to take language, I got to do XYZ there. So that coupled with the number that we heard about 56% of these kids are not passing the MCAS and not getting a degree, but are passing through, the local piece already. That's that's in 15 districts. To me, that's a problem, and it's screaming out that says, if we give those districts the unfettered ability to say this is what it's going to take to graduate, are we in a little bit of a doom cycle there?
PAGE- No. I do feel like what we haven't spoken about as well is where there is a suggestion, I think,5879 and has been over time, that somehow the MCAS is some kind of magic bullet to answering what is a fundamental issue in our state, which is deep inequality. One of the main works that we have done, and Becky has done at the national level, is to address the fact that if we do not address the families outside school can expect them to achieve an equal level in school. That is why we have worked for higher minimum wage, paid family medical leave, the Student Opportunity Act, and the Fair Share Amendment because we know that no matter how outstanding our teachers are, they cannot solve all of society's problems. So they're that's why you see, the gross inequality, often by race and class, on some of these test scores.
But I do want to lift up one key piece. I think it's worth all of us looking more closely. I urge you as the legislature to go back and look at those in quite detail. These standards are not like, we want everyone to learn, you know, US history. They are very, very specific. I'm just picking US history because that's what I studied. They're very, very specific about things that students should have read. The actual documents, the very specific facts and government systems that we have, and the market economy. There are very specific standards about what needs to be covered, and that is the reference point for our educators. Of course, that is the reason we have a board of elementary and secondary education, and DESE is to look at and, you know, make sure those standards are in effect all over in all the districts.
DAY - I won't belabor the point, but we heard testimony that the curriculum frameworks are not required. Right? They suggested. Are we are we moving towards a requirement here?
PAGE - No. Those state standards are the ones that guide licensure, and teacher preparation programs, and they are directive then. With, yes, we have a localism in this, in this state.
DAY - I don't need your teacher requirements. They certainly are there for that. I'm talking about the school districts themselves.
PAGE - The school districts must, if there's one in US history, that has to cover X these things in this part of math. In geometry, you have to cover these these topics. They are written in great detail, and developed over over many years, starting with the 1993 Education Reform Act.
MCCARTHY - Yes. You have teachers have to submit a lesson plan, that gets lifted onto the computer, which the parents can access, and shows how those standards are addressed. We have to teach the standards. That's why our evaluations are based upon, that we're teaching to the standards. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER1 - Representative, Viera and then senator Feeney.
VIEIRA - Thank you, Madam Chair. So I want to get back to this comprehensive idea. Right? So this current testing regime is what led to this ballot initiative. Right? Is that a correct statement? The current testing regime is what led to this ballot initiative.
PAGE - High-stakes testing regime, I think. Yes.
VIEIRA - So some form of alternative looking at coursework within the courses that are required under MassCore, some type of rubric for grading so that it's we can compare one district's civics class to another district's civics class even though the projects might be different in those two classes to measure that those standards in the framework have been met. That's something that MTA and NEA support and are working towards. So that is a direction that MTA and NEA are supportive of and working towards?
PAGE- So I'll just say briefly, and then I'll let others speak to this. So one of the groups that, President Pringle referred to was the New York Consortium, where it's several schools in the consortium where they've developed alternative assessments. They did not take the state test, and those students do significantly better when they go on to college, compared to the students, similar, you know, demographic students who went and did the normal testing. They develop performance assessments. They share them with educators and schools. But it is not a punitive thing. It is about how we connect and how educators, professional educators, the experts, share their ideas. Here's a great assignment we used in. We've been supportive of the MCIA, which is, you know, a nation-leading effort in this state. We're, you know, supportive of Jack Schneider and his work with the education, Commonwealth Project. Absolutely.
VIEIRA - This came from the statement you already made about NEA supporting that in the example there. So one of my school districts was going6167 to be part of that. We were very proud and excited about that, having walked the halls of this building in 1992 with Bob Antonucci, who then went on in 93 to become the commissioner of education to look at what this competency determination was going to be about. Unfortunately, the leadership before you at MTA came down to convince my teacher's union to oppose us being part of that project. So I'm glad to hear the president today of MTA sitting in this hearing room telling us that you as an association are supportive of that and that as we look to try to move to some future regime of competency determination, we'll be working in partnership with the MTA and then not in opposition with the MTA.
PAGE - Yes. 100%. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER1 - Senator.
FEENEY - Thank you, Madam Chair. I think that the previous, questioning, was important because we hear our charge is to look at specifically the ballot initiatives, right, and the effect of the ballot initiatives as presented. I want to thank you President Pringle too for being here today for coming to Massachusetts and for the work that you do. But I think this is important because at least personally, I'll speak parochially for kind of my frame of reference. I do struggle a little bit with what we do. I think, Jeff Friedman mentioned the gap. We've heard from you that, you know, assessments aren't all bad, right? That there is,6252 some value to that. Yet the language is written6256 in a certain way that kind of turns it6258 into, you know, the Wild West of a patchwork of different assessments across the Commonwealth. My sense is and I'm not speaking for you. I sense that when you write ballot initiatives, there is a question of relatedness and making sure that there's not too much as a part of that that could confuse voters.
So you're less than prescriptive, I would say, in the actual, ballot initiative as written. My question and I've been accused sometimes of being too direct, but you know, not to negotiate against yourself, but you know, to speak honestly and candidly, this afternoon, is the position of the MTA that you would be open to, whether it's through statute or through rulemaking, actual, required standardized assessments that are not high stakes for the student, that would not be a graduation requirement, but that would allow us to fill that gap so that we can address any sort of geographic or other demographic inequities, across the state. Because we certainly don't want to get to that point where we're back here saying, look, what we have created is equity in districts across the state based on all sorts of demographic or socioeconomic, reasons. Is the MTA open to having that conversation beyond what's written in the ballot initiative itself to require assessments to avoid that problem as long as it's not high stakes for the student?
PAGE - I will say that one thing that would certainly solve this ballot initiative is passing the Thrive Act as written. The Thrive Act gets rid of the MCAS graduation requirement, ends a destructive receivership regime, but also creates a commission to look at how we develop new forms of whole child assessments. So we support that. It's to say that we have, like, some secret idea of what those assessments are absolutely not, we support what we have been on in MCIA developing that collaboration across districts and of source we support in the Thrive Act a commission that would really look at how what is the best kind of way of looking at the quality of our schools, quality of education, and then what do we need to make it even better? So in that way, of course, we support that direction. We think this regime has not been successful. But I do want to clarify, that the ballot issue gets rid of the graduation requirement. It's a federal law to have the test. We will still have the test and whatever value that has, it'll still be there. It just won't have this high-stakes element.
PEISCH - At the risk of prolonging this even further, and I'm conscious of the time. So I just want to clarify that the ballot question I think is what everyone's been getting at. The ballot question will eliminate the passing of the MCAS as a graduation requirement. It does not go into any of the other requirements or relative to assess performance, whatever other assessments may be out there. Passing this question will not automatically replace it with anything, as you've just indicated. Correct?
PAGE - Correct. We just think it puts its focus back on, the state, the rich and excellent, and gold state standards.
PEISCH - I have one last question. Standards are not curriculum. Correct? Each district chooses and decides its curriculum. So I think when we're talking about standards, it's important to keep in mind that these standards, are delineated, and passed by the state board, but it is the districts that choose each of their curriculum. So I would go back to a comment that was made in earlier testimony. How do we ensure that districts' implementation of the standards is, meets a certain, baseline level?
MCCARTHY - Yes. I mean, at a local level, when we, look at the curriculum, educators, school committees, and administrators are engaged in the process. The curriculum, is, selected based on the standards. So that's the process. I just wanted to just say that what this ballot initiative is going to do is allow all students the opportunity to get a high school diploma, especially those students who are most vulnerable and who have demonstrated either because, of their learning profiles or their background experiences, that they've been denied that opportunity. That's what this is about, is allowing all students to thrive. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER2 - Thank you.
SPEAKER1 - Seeing no further questions, we thank you for your testimony. We'll now move on to panel number 2. Shelley Scruggs. I'm I'm afraid I'm going to mispronounce this name, so I apologize in advance. Sole Gusas? Gusas?
Oh, I'm told I'm told that person is not testifying. Danny Charbonneau and Brandt Duncan.
And, keep I'd I would ask, if you have any conversation to please take it outside the room. We are we don't want to interfere with the testimony of the panel in front of us. And, you may begin by introducing yourselves and giving your presentations. Thank you. And, again, the questions will come after all 3 of you have presented.
SHELLEY SCRUGGS - CONCERNED CITIZEN - Good afternoon. My name is Shelley Scruggs, and I was the lead petitioner on the first ballot initiative to end the MCAS graduation requirement. This is 2301, a group of parents. For me, this is a very personal battle and a very urgent campaign to protect my son's future, his self-esteem, and his self-worth. I'm a graduate of Princeton, and I have a PhD in electrical engineering. So growing up, I performed pretty well on standardized tests. My son, who was a sophomore in high school, class of 2026, is a different kind of learner. He excels at hands-on projects with a natural ability to assemble and troubleshoot, but he also has ADHD and has always struggled with testing in general. I'm here to make sure that the great effort he puts in every week to stay focused, complete his school work, and keep up his grades isn't obliterated by poor performance on a series of one-size-fits-all tests.
Let me emphasize the word obliterated. The MCAS graduation requirement denies a student their high school diploma. The single most important document a young person needs to start their lives in the adult working world, especially for those who aren't going to college. I speak on behalf of my son and thousands of students who attend Massachusetts Public Schools when I say this Draconian practice should end now. Don't let the BESE, I'm sorry, continue to use the MCAS to stress out, overburden, and potentially ruin a young person's life just at its beginning.
DANIELLA CHARBONEAU - MARTHA'S VINEYARD REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL - Thank you for the opportunity to present here today. My name is Dani Charboneau, and I am the 2023 Massachusetts State Teacher of the Year. I've come here today to talk about a classroom teacher's perspective of what the MCAS graduation requirement does to our curriculum choices, student engagement, and school resources. I teach a particular population of students. I run an alternative program on Martha's Vineyard, which largely means that my students are what you would call at risk of not graduating. First of all, I'd like to let you know that the number of students who are considered at risk for not graduating is growing by leaps and bounds, not just here in this state, but across the country.
A lot of those kids are at risk of not graduating because they are not engaged with the curriculum and sometimes because they do not see our practices as relevant to their future lives. I wonder, while we're debating MCAS here today if we are all cognizant of exactly what the MCAS tests, are because it is a very narrow set of skills in English, math, and some sciences. It does not test for emotional intelligence, leadership, teamwork, or problem-solving skills. I bring those up specifically because they are the four skills that American employers say they are looking for most in the future workforce. But I, a teacher of ninth through 12th grade English for these students, would be short-changing my students if I did not prepare them as hard as possible to pass that specific test. They need that diploma. So already MCAS controls what I teach them before the test.
But it should also be kept in mind that after the test, students who fail certain sections often have to take whole other classes to help them prepare to retake those sections. From a student's perspective, you are asking them to devote an additional block of time to something that they found irrelevant in the first place. I have to tell you that for students with one foot out the door, in terms of a high school education, that is a recipe for disaster. From a school's perspective, you are devoting additional resources, space, time, and money to developing skills that were not on the list that I gave you from American employers earlier. That is why I feel passionately about ending the MCAS graduation requirement because I believe that we can keep Massachusetts as a national leader in education by better using those resources to create actually a more robust curriculum that is more relevant for the workforce now and in the future. Thank you for your time.
BRANT DUNCAN - AFT MASSACHUSETTS - Good afternoon, everyone. Brent Duncan. I'm the secretary-treasurer of AFT Massachusetts. That's the second teachers, union here in Massachusetts, and I just want to share, some comments relative to this issue. So AFT Massachusetts supports the proposed ballot initiative that would end the use of the MCAS standardized test as a graduation requirement. Replacing it with locally developed coursework-based measures for certifying academic mastery of state standards. Massachusetts students deserve a better system of assessment and improvement, guided by holistic assessments that measure a wide range of competencies, capabilities, and real-world skills. Standardized tests do nothing to prepare students for the skills they'll need in college or the workforce.
Like working collaboratively, or communicating effectively in writing. We also now have years of data showing that the MCAS-based graduation requirement disproportionately harms historically marginalized students, such as English language learners, students with disabilities, and students of color. Disrupting their academics, their education, and in some cases, even denying students a high school diploma. The students who are harmed the most are concentrated in our gateway cities, and school districts, which to this day, remain underfunded as we continue to implement the historic Student Opportunity Act that will finally begin to provide them with equal resources they have long been denied. Let's replace the MCAS-based graduation requirement with one based on coursework, certified by districts, that aligns with state academic standards. This approach is fairer, better suited to preparing students for the complex challenges of college and the workforce, and is fully aligned with Massachusetts' strong academic standards. Thank you to the committee. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER1 - Seeing none, we thank you very much for your time and your testimony. We will now call the next panel, which I believe the first person testifying, on the next panel is going to be doing it virtually, and that is Jack Schneider, if I'm not mistaken. Is he,
SPEAKER4 - Hello?
SPEAKER1 - There he is.
So I think I think that we'll, you know, you're I don't know if you've been, able to see most of the hearing or not, but I'll just reiterate that we will hear from each member of the panel, and then we will go to questions. So, I have you first, professor Schneider.
SPEAKER4 - Great. And you're able to hear me?
SPEAKER1 - Yes.
SPEAKER4 - Okay. Terrific. I'm just gonna try to answer a few questions that continue to come up, and maybe that haven't come up. So the first 1, we were Actually, could you could you
SPEAKER1 - speak up just a little bit or maybe could get closer to the microphone?
SPEAKER4 - You know, I happen to do a podcast, and so I I can pull a microphone right through the is that any better?
SPEAKER1 - It you it's a little it's a little difficult to hear.
SPEAKER4 - Okay. Well, I'm I'm talking pretty loud right now. Alright.
SPEAKER1 - Maybe it's on our end. Is there any way to get the volume up? No. Sorry. So we'll try7082 hard to listen.
SPEAKER4 - Okay. And apologies. I'll I'll try to shout, but that doesn't mean I'm yelling at anybody.
JACK SCHNEIDER - UMASS AMHERST - So one of the questions that have come up is how we can function with 300 or 400 different standards. I just want to add a couple of points to your consideration here. So as we've discussed, there's only one set of curricular standards, and curricula that are in use are aligned with those standards. It's important to remember, and I haven't heard this today, but I haven't been on for the whole session, is that as long as we have assessment systems in place that are aligned with those standards, schools are going to continue seeking to adopt curricula that are aligned with state curricular frameworks. That's largely because what will remain unchanged right now is that MCAS testing will continue in grades three through eight as well as grade 10. DESE will be able to ensure, as a result, that schools and districts are not systematically rejecting the standards.
If people want to learn more about how hard schools and districts work to find curricula aligned with standards. Just Google something like McGraw Hill, Massachusetts standards, and you'll find that these textbook publisher textbook publishers and curriculum publishers are trying hard to signal we have aligned the curricula that we are solving with your state curriculum frameworks. Another thing to think about here is whether MCAS is a valid and precise tool for determining student readiness to graduate. So we know from research that out-of-school variables like family income have greater influences on test scores than in-school variables. We also know and refer to this today that MCAS is narrowly tailored and doesn't tell us much about the readiness of students to graduate. That's not what it was designed to do.
We know from educational research that schools that are successful at raising student standardized test7207 scores are not necessarily successful at improving long-term outcomes from young for young people. So you can look at research by Dan Koretz, or Jen Jennings. Right? There's lots of work on this. Even as a measure of student learning, MCAS is only capable of capturing some of what students know and can do. The federal government has reopened the door to alternative, approaches to assessment for that precise reason. So I'm going to start wrapping up here. Just a couple more questions. Are we comfortable with disproportionately denying degrees to students of color students from low-income families and English language learners? We know from the evidence that this is the case. These are students whose teachers believe they're ready to graduate.
I just think it's important to remember that we're talking about 15 to 20 different teachers across high school who worked with students for 180 days a year. Right? So it's not one teacher just making a call on a student. Then finally, are we comfortable? I haven't heard anything today about this. With the strategic response that ensures that many more students do pass MCAS and earn their diplomas. The strategic response is something to bear in mind there, and that includes things like explicit test preparation for an entire semester or an entire year. To me, that doesn't feel like a great use of student time, but it's something that needs to happen for the many students who do end up passing that hurdle. Thank you so much. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER1 - Thank you. Whoever's next.
WILLIE BODRICK II - THE BOSTON FOUNDATION - I'll start. Good afternoon. Madam Chairs, thank you very much. Esteemed lawmakers who are here. My name is reverend Willie Bodrick the second. I stand before you as a pastor as a parent and as a voice of the community in which I serve in Roxbury, particularly for those black and brown families. I serve as senior pastor of the historic 12th Baptist Church in Roxbury, as well as president of the Boston Network For Black Student Achievement, and I serve on the Boston Public Schools Opportunity and Achievement Gap Task Force. Today, I speak to you not only from a pulpit of faith, but also from the platform of education, equity, and justice. As we navigate the aftermath of COVID-19, a crisis that deepened the chasm of inequality in the Commonwealth.
We must confront an enduring barrier in our education MCAS exam is tied to the high graduation the high school graduation requirement. This single high-state test has become a gatekeeper. One that too often locks out our most vulnerable students, those who are black and brown and low income, students, who are grappling with language barriers, and those who are dealing with7383 disabilities. This is why I have supported the MTA back7387 ballot question as it immediately will have an impact on the inequities that are present in our system. The ballot question for us today offers a beacon of hope. We know the harms of the MCAS. It detracts from the richness of education. It narrows the curriculum and it fosters an environment where teaching to the test prevails over nurturing critical thinking and creativity that education should provide.
It's not an accurate reflection of a student's journey and it's not an accurate reflection of their potential. So I ask that this body be clear-eyed with this valid question. We are saying that a student's self-worth, their future cannot7433 and should not be reduced to one single exam score. We're advocating for a system that truly captures the diverse talents and potential of all of our students. Preparing them not just for this one test, but preparing them for life. The needs of our students have only grown since the pandemic and I can7455 speak to that personally. But let us seize this moment. Let us seize this opportunity as a Commonwealth to redefine success, to ensure that every child, regardless of their background has a chance to thrive. This ballot initiative is about equity, is about opportunity and it's about the promise of a brighter future, a more just future, for every child in this Commonwealth. Thank you.
KIRSTEN FRAZIER - WORCESTER PUBLIC SCHOOL - Good afternoon. My name is Kirsten Frazier, and I teach high school students who are newly learning English in Worcester. These wonderful students, many of whom are juniors and seniors, have left their countries of origin because of circumstances we cannot comprehend. They are intelligent, capable young people with big dreams and plans for the future. Many already speak several other languages. They are in a country that is foreign to them and are being taught in a language they are struggling to understand. Now they're being told they have to take this test in English, and if they don't pass it the first time, they'll have to take it again and again, or they won't graduate. Can you imagine the stress these students are under every single day? Can you imagine the additional stress we are putting on these students by requiring them to pass these tests?
It breaks my heart to see the look of despair on their faces as test time rolls around yet again, and they feel their future slipping away simply because they aren't being given a chance to show what they know. Right now, the only other language MCAS is offered in is Spanish. How is that equitable for students who speak Portuguese, Arabic, Haitian Creole, Vietnamese, Turkish, or any other language? We pride ourselves on promoting equity in this Commonwealth. However, this MCAS requirement is inherently inequitable. With this test, you are punishing brilliant students who struggle with communication, all in the name of a test score. We should award diplomas based on real skills and knowledge, not the ability to take a test. Please approve this ballot question to provide more opportunities for all of our students. Thank you for your time.
LISA GUISBOND - CITIZEN FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS - Good afternoon, and thank you. I'm Lisa Guisbond speaking in support of the ballot question for Citizens for Public Schools where I am the executive director. CPS opposes using MCAS exams as a graduation requirement. We have documented the reasons for our opposition, most recently in our report called Lessons Learned Written with Fair Test. I have submitted written testimony, which lays out in detail the case for our support of this ballot question. But today, I want to share a story with you that illustrates why we need to make this change. On Thursday, we co-hosted a webinar on the MCAS ballot question. We had a7643 panel with Boston High School students7645 and an educator. Ms. Collier. Ms. Collier was brought to tears by the students' descriptions of the stress, anxiety, and irrelevance of the MCAS graduation requirement.
She said she felt sadness and guilt that she had participated as a teacher in narrow teaching to the test and passing her own test-driven anxiety and fear on down to her students. She said she decided to leave classroom teaching and become a reading specialist to escape the pressures and distortions of the high-stakes MCAS. Miss Colliers is just one of many such stories of caring, experienced teachers who feel the moral injury of not doing right by their students because of the pressures of the high-stakes MCAS. It's time for us, Massachusetts, to join most other States, and this destructive graduation requirement. I just want to add quickly that the ballot question does not eliminate a competency determination. It shifts that competency determination from what many people have described here today as a very narrow limited, assessment to some, a way of certifying students' readiness to graduate that is much more broad, deep, meaningful, and relevant, and stops this damage, this moral injury. Thank you so much. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER1 - Thank you. Are there any questions for any members of the panel? Representative Gordon.
GORDON- Thank you very much for your presentation. I ask this question because I'm still struggling to come to a full understanding, and I think that's the charge of our committee. It's also the charge of our committee to focus7759 on the ballot question. As you point out, what the ballot question seeks to do is remove7763 the high-stakes nature and high-stakes consequential of the test because it doesn't seek to stop giving the test at all. So there would still be a teaching to the test if the result of the test is somehow important without the requirement. Now I understand some of your testimony. I understand that we should look at some exceptions, for example, people who are English language learners. We heard that a few times. I get that.
I get that for students with certain disabilities, there should be exceptions for that. I get the carve-outs. What I'm struggling with is that if there is no graduation requirement tied into this at all, then what motive does the student have in taking the test? What motive does the teacher have in preparing for the test? If there is no motive, if we take the high stakes and replace it with a low stake, how do we know that there's any value in the test? If there's no value in the test, how do we compare one school district to another? Most importantly, how do we know what school districts need help in teaching our students? That's the bottom line. How can we help our districts?
FRAZIER - I can sort of address that as a classroom teacher because I have thought in special education, I have been, as a reading intervention teacher. I have worked as a co-teacher in English classrooms as well as working with multilingual students. Having the MCAS as a high-stakes test puts way too much pressure on our students because they just have this narrow snapshot in time. So it's telling me what my students know right at this particular time, but it's not telling me what they know, because it's only looking at this little bit of information. If we take and we are looking at broader tests that can also give us, sort of real-time results as to where our students are, it's going to help me much more as a classroom teacher to be able to support those students and increase their knowledge so that they are reaching those state standards and really able to demonstrate what they know and show us in a variety of ways.
So if we're not looking at just, can you answer a, b, c, or d on a multiple choice test, which is essentially the test skills that we have to teach them as7918 a classroom teacher, how do you answer a7920 multiple choice test? I want to know what they know. What sort of critical thinking skills do they have? How can they show me that? Because employers start looking to know, can you fill out a, b, c, or d on a test? Can you answer multiple-choice questions? Employers want to know, can you look at a problem and figure out how to solve it? So we need to look at ways to provide that information in real-time to teachers and in ways that support our standards but also aren't saying if you don't pass this one test, and you have to take it over and over again, and you've got to take time other classes off of your schedule to take these supporting classes if you don't pass it the first time. Or gee, you don't speak English very well, so maybe you need to learn, you know, you're you're going to have to take more time to take this test. If you don't speak Spanish, you're going to have to sit there with a word-for-word dictionary to answer your questions. It's not helping though.
GORDON - I appreciate your answer, but I don't think it's either addressing the question or my I'm going to try again. My concern is that we will still have the MCAS. My concern is I would still like to see a way that we could help our school districts with a tool that could determine their success in teaching our kids, which the MCAS, I think, would help us to do. However, if we remove it as a graduation requirement altogether, I'm asking you, therefore, it would seem to me that students would not have the same motivation to use their best effort to try to pass it. For example, I've taken pass-fail classes in school, and I've taken graded classes. I, you know, I've put in a different level of effort, to be honest. So how do we replace one if we're in your ballot question is successful, what would we do to make sure that the schools in the town where I live are doing just as good a job as the schools in the towns and cities where everyone else here lives?
FRAZIER - You'd be surprised. Students, if they know that it's not something that's going to, like, you know, hold their life in the balance, they put more effort in and they show you the more authentic skills. It's counterintuitive but it's the truth. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER4 - Don't know if anybody can hear me.
SPEAKER1 - Oh, that's
SPEAKER4 - Hello? Yeah.
SPEAKER24 - Go for it, Jack.
SPEAKER4 - A box on a screen. Can anybody see me?
SPEAKER24 - Yeah. Please do. Go ahead.
SCHNEIDER - Great. I just wanted to add, that the conditions for testing that you are describing, representative, are ideal testing conditions. What you are essentially describing is what the federal government does through the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which is the gold standard for testing in the United States. You do not want schools and students seeking to gain the test. You want to know what they know right now as they are sitting down in a zero-stakes exam. So I'd be happy to forward any of that literature to you or connect you with psychometricians. But those are ideal testing conditions that you described there.
GUISBOND - Yes. Jack stole my point. Thanks, Jack. But did it very well. There's a lot of literature, as Jack alluded to, showing that you get better information with lower-stakes exams than with high-stakes exams. It's8142 more accurate information. There's an analogy of high stakes exams are like holding a match under a thermometer, and, you get, like, artificial inflation as a result of all the narrow teaching to the test, the stress on passing the test, it becomes, a less accurate measure of learning, and it distorts, the data that comes out of it. It also distorts, as I was trying to describe with my story, it distorts what happens in the classroom and the student's experience8179 of learning. I would just push back on your assumption that having a high-stakes test is a positive motivator. I think we see in the data hidden in the data, a de-motivating impact on the students who just check out or leave our schools entirely. That's hidden in the data where there's all this focus on it's only 700 students a year. What about all the kids who were so, you know, discouraged, bored, demotivated along the way that they just left? A lot of students leave.
FRAZIER - I had students in the ground out8224 rather than fail the MCAS. So that's and that's not doing anybody any good. So when students decide that rather than fail a test over and over again, they're just going to drop out. That's hurting everyone. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER7 - Can I
SPEAKER1 - just call you up for a second? Absolutely. Logistics here. We are considerably8249 behind schedule. So if you've got something to add that has not been said, fine. But repetition of the same point, I think we just don't have time for it. Thank you, Miss Warner.
FRIEDMAN - I feel like I'm not getting my question across to you. I am not a test taker. Don't like them. Think they're very narrow. Agree that the MCAS test is just one particular thing. I am looking at this ballot question. The ballot question will take away the requirement of that high-stakes text. When we started this whole process many years ago, we had a horrible equity gap. If8301 you lived in Lexington, things were one way. If you lived in Holyoke, things were another. What I want to know is if we take this away and I'm not saying it's a good measure or anything. How will I ensure that there is a standardized way of assessing that people in one district are getting the quality education and qualifications that they need to be productive in the 21st century?
I don't have a dog around the MKS. I don't particularly care, except it is the way we assess today today what's going on in this town versus what's going on in this town, in, yes, a8352 narrow way. What happens? How do we ensure this ballot question will take all of that away, any chance of that away? How do we ensure that our kids, no matter where they live, are getting the education that they need? Now I have wonderful assessments. They could be a million different kinds. How do we ensure that? Because we will have lost that, whether you like it or not, we no will have no way of comparing that, and we need to8383 be able to compare that. Otherwise, I don't know what's going on in one place or8389 another. Do you understand the8391 question that I'm trying to get at?
BODRICK - I hear your question. I'm grappling with the fact that there's still deep inequity with the MCAS. So I'm not sure that that that the MCAS is going to fix the this the problem that we're trying to address.
FRIEDMAN - Well, all I know, sir is that before we did any of this, we couldn't even figure out what was going on. I'm just asking, what's that going to be? How do we ensure that happens? This ballot option does not do that. Take something away and do not put something in its place. That's what I'm trying to grab.
FRAZIER - So before all of them, I believe this is something that was addressed earlier with Max and Deb. Before the MCAS, there were no state standards. We have the state standards now. We have the curriculum. We have that no district in the state can afford to not adhere to those standards. So those standards, that mass core that we have, all of our curriculum has to meet that, and that is extensive, and it is the gold standard model across the country. Other states model their standards, what they expect their students to know and learn by every grade based on what we have done here in Massachusetts. So if districts are teaching to those standards, which they should be to be a district in the state, those are required by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, then we're able to compare apples and apples because we have those8487 that district, those standards that every district has8491 to meet, and that's part of their graduation requirement.
GUISBOND - We'll still have the results of the MCAS administration. That will still have.
FRIEDMAN - Just told us that was not a useful8507 test. I don't see what's keeping us afloat.
BODRICK - I think the ethos of the and the value of what you believe about the test matters not when in regards to the fact that the test will still be administered. So the question becomes, like, does the test determine whether this person, this young person, should graduate or not? We can still use these growth measures to evaluate them across the board, evaluate and look from district to district. But does this determine and capture the entirety of a student? No. I think you agreed to that. We know that the MCAS is just a sliver of what is being taught in our schools. It's a sliver of the standards. But the question becomes, does that sliver determine and dictate a child's future? I think that's what we're contending. Does this dictate the child's future? Can we still use this test?
The test will still be administered. Can we look across the board and see what from district to district what's happening? I think it does give us a capturing of what's happening. It allows us to evaluate and assess what a young person might need, and where they are on that spectrum of growth, and we can use that for the spectrum of growth. But it does not capture all that is necessary for a young person to be evaluated as the entirety of their as a8581 student, but it also does not capture what they're going to do when they move forward in the future. So I just don't think that having this test be the one determining factor that could add so much layer of stress, and anxiety. As a kid who grew up with a bunch of tests, I can tell you for a fact that it was not a determining factor.
The limiting of a curriculum hurt me when I got to college because there was so much more that could have been taught to me than preparing for this statewide test to make sure that my teacher got it done. After all, in many ways, she felt her job depended on it or his job depended on it. So I do think we have an opportunity here to not say that this test is the only marker that should determine whether a young person graduates. It still can be used and have some value to someone, the legislature, to measure what's happening. But for a young person who's trying to go to college or go into the and go into a career, that shouldn't be the thing that stands as a barrier for them. I think we have an opportunity to explore that here today. That's why we're here supporting this ballot question. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER1 - I'd like to remind you about the time.
FRAZIER - I'm sorry. Just one more real quick thing on that. Having it be not a great point in the department might give us a better accurate measure of where our students are. The pressure of having to pass this test to graduate will have been taken off so that they can have the chance to show what they know and feel more comfortable taking it.
PEISCH - So I would like to follow up on Representative Gordon's question and Senator, Friedman's relative to when you take away the high stakes aspect of it. The test was given starting, I believe, in 1998 and became a graduation requirement in 2003. If you compare the performance before it becomes a graduation requirement, you see a significant difference. I wish Rob Curtin were still here so I could ask him to go into that. However, I believe the data shows that when high school students think something matters, they are likely to pay more attention and more effort.8708 I will say, concerning the NAEP tests, I am the vice chair of the National Assessment Governing Board, which oversees the NAEP tests. We struggle with the 12th grade, assessment because it's voluntary.
Getting enough students to take it is one of the challenges of the factors that we've been told exist that it's very difficult to get high school students to engage in something that they don't see as directly beneficial or having some consequence to them. So I'm not sure what the date what, you know, what the, how much data we have in that. I just know that's one of the things that is generally viewed as an impediment to our getting more 12th graders to take that assessment. I also would like to just ask, given what I'm hearing about the concerns and the concerns that you're hearing my colleagues raise about how we know what's happening. Now in Boston, for example, only seven students did not graduate in8781 2019 because of this, out of a, you know, a district that has thousands of of high school seniors.
So it seems to me that this I guess what I'm asking aren't there other ways8795 to deal with some of these problems? People have spoken about, some8799 of the carve-outs. This question just completely gets rid of the graduation requirement. It does not it does not, provide for any, specific alternatives. So I'm just wondering what your views are on, carve-outs, or frankly, what to me, what the results of the MCAS show, are there in certain districts, there are significantly higher numbers of students. This says to me, to Senator Friedman's point, that we need to do something about what's going on in those districts. So why not, for example, instead of getting rid of you know, when you're talking about less than 1% don't pass, why not go after why is it that that 1% doesn't pass? Create, more, programs, supports, etcetera, for those students.
BODRICK - Well, I think the data showed in the slides earlier that after retakes, like, there are a lot of kids that are retaking this exam as well. Right? So it's not like the first time everybody's just knocking it out of the park. So we're also talking about curricular time and time going to being proficient around this test. So that's added benefit and added time is given to these young people who are working hard, you know, not just dealing with that8875 test, but the many other tests that are taking in school as well. So I think at this particular juncture, having the graduation requirement is adding an extra layer of bearing burden to these young people, adding stress to our educators as well. I think we've gotten good at trying to pass the test.
I mean, when you talk about the numbers that you're talking about in Boston, teachers8897 have gotten good at passing this. What we're doing is focusing on passing the test, and I'm not8901 sure that that is the system8904 that we want. I'm not sure that we want a a system that's only focused8908 on passing tests, but we want young people who are whole individuals, cure personalities is what they said at Georgetown. Right? That their mind, body, and spirit, that whole person is being developed in shape, and that they're being evaluated, beyond just this one test score. So I think, I think many conversations could be had in regards to what you're suggesting around carve-outs, but we think it is very important that at this particular moment, the graduation requirement be removed from the MCAS. I think it can still be used as a measure. It can be used as a measure.
If that's what you all are using it as, but it does not speak to us. The great educators that we have in the Commonwealth that are doing this work and the great young people that are going to school every day. I push back on the notion that folks are going to stop doing their job. Right? I think that's the undercurrent I keep hearing and I don't think that's the case. I think our educators wake up and go to work hard every day. They're fighting to sure that we're meeting the standards. We are one of the best in the country for a reason, and it's not because of the MCAS, it's because we have amazing educators and we have amazing students. I think that if we remove this requirement, we'll continue to see them excel as we go forward.
GUISBOND - Yes. I just want to add, like, your point about, the results changing or improving when the requirement went in. But what was lost in the narrow focus, like okay? The requirements here, we have to make sure they pass this test. This narrow8994 test.
PEISCH - Or the students thought this matters.
GUISBOND - But what did they lose? Like, what was pushed aside, from their education and their experience of school? I would argue a great deal. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER1 - Thank you. Thank you, all for your time and your testimony. I9011 before you leave, I just wanna make sure I haven't missed any of my colleagues. No. Okay. We will now move in thank you very much. We'll now move into the next phase of this hearing, which are the,
those who are opposed, to the ballot question. And we are starting with doctor, Jeff Howard. Doctor doctor who will be virtual
9045 SPEAKER259045 -9045 I9045 am.
SPEAKER26 - I am. Correct. Can I be heard?
SPEAKER1 - Thank you very much. If you, would like to introduce yourself, give give the, members of the committee a little, information on your background, and then I know you have a presentation that we would, we're interested in hearing. So thank
JEFF HOWARD - THE EFFICACY INSTITUTE - Well, I'm a social psychologist by training and, was a member of the Board of Education from 2,008, the BESE. I served on the BESE, the State Board of Education Elementary and Secondary, between 2,008 and 2012. I've run one of which, did consulting, and training within k to 12 education systems across the country. So I've been involved with k to 12 education for the better part of 40 years. I have seen, great teachers. I've seen fantastic teachers, who even when they weren't being given standards to teach to, found high-quality standards to teach inner-city kids to. I have seen lots of teachers who are not great. That absent the structure of some standards, that they were expected to teach to, they didn't teach much at all. That accounts for some of the gross underperformance of a lot of kids in inner-city environments.
I've seen the effects of the MCAS. I have been an advocate of the MCAS before it was invented. I strongly felt that there had to be standards and there had to be accountability, for those standards, and that requires high-stakes assessments. It just does. People don't function without that. So as I served on the board, I became very respectful of the process in the state of Massachusetts, the people who worked on the MCAS, who revised it9179 and adapted it over the years, the level of understanding, the care for children who might have trouble with the MCAS, putting in the range of workarounds so that we could graduate as many kids as possible. By the way, I think that the data we got earlier, suggests how far we've gone to make sure everyone can graduate. The percentage of kids who don't is very, very small.9209 I didn't hear that talk from some of the people who have testified in favor of9215 this.
There seems to be an assumption that a lot of kids, especially kids of color, suffer from this and don't graduate. I think the data strongly shows that that's not true. It's just not true. It's a tiny percentage9229 who don't graduate. So by way of just sort of quick introduction, let me quickly roll through some of the things that I, have laid out. It is understood that no assessment is perfect. None has ever been. But the MCAS is regarded as one9245 of the best, most rigorous, and most reliable in the nation, justifiably so. It's also very well aligned with the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which as someone pointed out is the gold standard of the country, and for that reason, people have come to recognize that Massachusetts is doing as good a job or better than anybody else in the country in getting the maximum number of kids to the point where they9270 can function in society.
As a social psychologist, I have another sort of perspective on this. People have a powerful response to clear goals and objectives,9280 and I would9281 add high-stakes, goals9283 and objectives. By the way, this is just common sense. Is it not? Don't we all know that when you have an assessment that requires that you pass it and there are consequences if you don't, you tend to pay more attention to it? I think we, it's okay to ignore, statements that say that people don't do better when the stakes are higher. Think about kids who want to pass the driver's test. States are very high on the driver's test. If you don't pass, you don't get a license, you can't drive. Children are not damaged by having to do that. The graduation requirement is a goal and goals have real characteristics and real effects on people. They focus attention on the things that you have to do to get accomplished.
They organize your behavior, including learning behavior. They motivate greater commitment to the effort. Again, this is intuitive. It sort of makes common sense. Common sense in this case is correct. Vague standards are being told to do your9349 best or that there are no consequences for failing. Don't have those kinds of effects on people. The MCAS is one of those clear, compelling objectives and it has a beneficial effect on both students and their teachers I would argue their superintendents and maybe their school committees across the state where people understand that they can be evaluated, The kids understand they can be evaluated and there are consequences. The adults understand that they can be evaluated and held accountable for how their students do. Graduation requirement serves to notify people that there's important work to be done and that everybody needs to bear down and do that work.
The world students are going to be graduating into. This is a separate point. Routinely demands that people demonstrate command of rigorous standards as entry requirements to a wide variety of privileges and licenses our society confers, from driver's licenses to CPA exams to bar exams to the license to pilot commercial aircraft. The general good order of our roads and our highways is a testament to the efficacy of a standardized high-stakes licensing process. How many of us would be comfortable if our, if the certification of our pilots, were left to the discretion of the instructors of whatever flight school they attended? In this regard, the MCAS graduation requirement is an introduction to this world9445 of certification and accountability. All of our students are going to9449 enter the following year.
When there's 17 years old, or 18 years old, they hit the world and the world puts these requirements, high stakes requirements on them. We are saying to them in effect, to receive the certification of high school graduation, you must demonstrate these competencies at this standard on this objective test. You have four years in which to do it. Now, that is not only a reasonable requirement, it's practice for the adult world they're going to be entering the following year. Why should we protect9487 them from that world? A rigorous graduation requirement is a powerful expression of our belief in their capabilities. As if we're saying, yes, we know this is the high standard we're holding you to. We wouldn't do it if we weren't confident in your abilities to meet the standard. Lowering the standard or diluting it or removing the force of it by saying that it's no longer a high-stakes assessment is also a communication of expectations to children.
It can be taken as an expression of our doubts about their capabilities or at least doubts about the capabilities of some of them. I would argue it's, there's a similar effect on educators. If we hold educators to the standard of getting their kids to the standard, we're expressing confidence in them. If we assume that many of them can't do it, we're giving them a message about what we think of them and their capabilities. A single set of rigorous standards also represents an expectation we're setting, about our belief in the capabilities of our people. We're saying in effect that no, schools in different neighborhoods, and districts in different communities are not free to set different standards based on different expectations for different sorts of students.
It's a statement we're making that we believe virtually all of our children and all and in all their variety can achieve these standards. This is important. We expect adult institutions, our schools, and our families to be organized to get them there. I think the state has a right to set that expectation on professional educators. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, proficiency standards are a means for promoting social and economic equality. Contrary to some of what we've heard in some of the previous testimony, they promote equality. A standardized way to measure mastery9610 of a single rigorous set of standards geared for college and career success and demanded of all of our students, affluent or poor, male or female from all ethnicities and backgrounds represents a quality of opportunity driver.
We're saying to our people, that we expect all of you to demonstrate on this assessment that you have met these standards. When you do, we are confident that you'll be prepared to meet the challenges of our world. We're doing that across communities, across ethnicities. We expect all of you to do it because we believe that you can. So thank you for the opportunity to sort of share these views. I've kind of been building up a feeling about this as I've been listening, but I strongly concur with what we've done in this state, and what the first two, speakers, were testifying to. I count myself among the people who9669 think we're very fortunate to live in Massachusetts because of the graduation9673 requirement. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER1 - Thank you very much, doctor Howard. So I neglected at the beginning of this, section to indicate that in this section, we don't have actually any panels. I believe9685 5 individuals, have signed up. So we'll take the questions after each. And I just remind committee members that we, do have people waiting to testify. So hopefully, we won't have too much, repetition. So are there any questions for doctor Howard?
I guess you gave a very clear and concise presentation. There are no questions. I I wanna thank you for your time, and I know that you are testifying from a very remote location, and I very much appreciate your your willingness to do so. So thank you.
SPEAKER26 - Thank you.
SPEAKER1 - The next person that we have is signed up, excuse me. The next person who we, have who's invited to testify is have it9730 here. I hope I don't
SPEAKER7 - I
SPEAKER1 - get the name correct here. Brandon Carde Hernandez is are9736 you are you with us?
SPEAKER7 - I'm with me.
SPEAKER1 - Thank you. And if you if you, I don't know how much of this you've been able to watch. Like, if you can just give a little introduction to, you know, what your background is and then your presentation, that would be9752 terrific. Thank you.
BRANDON CARDET-HERNANDEZ - MRS WORDSMITH - Thank you so much for having me here today. I just concur with Doctor Howard and everything he shared. We are very lucky to live in Massachusetts and have these standards. My name is Brandon. I'm a lifelong educator. I've worked as a special education teacher, a middle school, and a high school principal as a senior education adviser to the former mayor and currently on the Boston School Committee. But today, I'm9780 here in my capacity as an educator, as a parent, as a former9784 foster kid, the son of incarcerated parents, who stays surrounded by incredibly low expectations. So here it is. The Commonwealth needs to have a baseline standard for commencement. This passes, which means that there are essentially 100 different requirements for high school graduation, and that is terrifying.
Do you know what else it means? It honestly means we are lowering expectations in a9812 system that has a long and vast history of inequality, racism, classism, and devastatingly low expectations, particularly for marginalized communities. This long-term impact here can't be understated. We widen health and economic gaps every time we remove responsibility9832 on system leaders to ensure that students earn diplomas and that a baseline of skills and knowledge. We widen any qualities with our every policy and allows budget decisions to be made outside of outcome data. We allow them inequalities every time we build policies and allow our kids to enter the world unprepared for college and careers. I think we will continue to do that as we move forward.
You know what? I wish we were here today, talking about how to increase rigor, how to raise expectations and ensure that students have even greater skills to compete in this very, very complex role. Instead, we're talking about removing shared expectations and allowing individual districts to make up rules that will serve policymakers over students and in turn, remove that shared accountability. I want shared accountability. I don't know. Maybe I have trust issues, but I feel like there is a little bit of gaslighting here. Most advanced economies have shared usually national graduation standards that include multiple measures including testing. Why? Because that's democracy. That is our system that requires us to have top and bottom-down accountability.
We have to have accountability for the choices, the pandemic ones, and the budgetary ones that we're making. These choices have to be tied to outcomes. Colleges and industries need to trust that a diploma from the Commonwealth means something that is valuable and then shows readiness. I think 1993 is a historical moment for our state. So we decided that every child deserves a high-quality education and we9931 built a policy to hold adults accountable to deliver it. It's not perfect, but it is a starting point to build off of. Scrapping it is a dangerous play that will only widen gaps and allow adults to escape accountability, making policies and rules that in my activism serve our ego and not student outcomes. A single statewide standard elevates the performance of schools. I'm thankful I could be here today. Thank you for allowing me to testify remotely. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER1 - Thank you very much. I will see if any of my colleagues have any questions. Any questions from any members of the committee? Seeing none, we thank you very much. And I also, I understand you as well are out of state today, and we appreciate your willingness to, join us remotely. So thank you very much. The next person that we have invited to testify is Doug Haugate. Doug, would you like to join us at the table?
SPEAKER27 - Good afternoon.
SPEAKER1 - Good afternoon. And if you too could10002 give for those who don't know you, give a little background and, and then make your10006 presentation, please.
DOUGLAS HOWGATE - MASSACHUSETTS TAXPAYER FOUNDATION - HB 4252 - Chair Peisch, Chair Friedman, and members of the committee thank you so much for the opportunity to testify here today. My10013 name is Douglas Howgate. I'm the president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, and I'm here to testify in opposition to House Bill 4252, which would eliminate any statewide standard for high school graduation. I think there's been a fascinating discussion here today. We've also heard this discussion in the weeks before, and we'll hear it in the weeks to come. But what I want to focus on in my testimony is what this ballot initiative would do and what its implications would be. This ballot initiative would eliminate any minimum standard, or statewide standard for high school graduation, and replace it with more than 300 local standards for high school graduation.
This question would not eliminate the MCAS test, and would not reduce the number of times students take the MCAS test. Most importantly, it would not provide any additional resources to students currently struggling to graduate from high school. This would get rid of a minimum statewide standard for high school graduation. Nothing more and nothing less. So as I give my remarks today and talk to you a little bit about the implications of this question and why we're opposed to it, I think it's important to, kind of reemphasize some of what's gone before in terms of what the current process is. So right now, to graduate from high school, a student has to pass a10082 local graduation requirement. Right? Every city and town right now can establish and does establish its requirements as Rob talked about about what they think it takes to graduate from high school. Right? But what we also have is a minimum statewide standard. Right?
A minimum standard of competency determination is typically, achieved by passing the 10th-grade MCAS, where there's a state and a local component to what it10104 takes to graduate from high school. Generally speaking, that system works well. Not perfect by any means, but it works well. As we've heard before about 96% of students pass both the state and local standard each year. But of course, the goal is not for 96% of students to pass, the goal is for 100% of students to get over that finish line every year. As we heard 2,500 to 2,800 students don't do that. Now 75% of those students who don't make it over that finish line didn't pass either the local or the state standard. But still, what I wish we were here talking about today is what resources we can provide to those students to help better prepare them to graduate from high school and move on to what's next.
I think that would be a much better use10142 of our time and our attention, But that's not what this question does. This question would get rid of a statewide standard for high school graduation, and replace it with 300 local standards. It would also destabilize and I think, undermine the approach to education reform that this state has used for more than 30 years. Right? As we've heard before, that approach is relatively straightforward. Right? To support our schools and our districts, the state has to come to the table with significant financial resources. Right? Nothing's going to work if that doesn't happen. But at the same time, what goes part and parcel with that is the state has to have some minimum standards and expectations. Right? What do we want to achieve? What does edge what do the educational outcomes we want to, achieve a look like from district to district for students from different, demographic backgrounds with different abilities?
What are our resources in service? Right? That combination has been kind of the cornerstone of what we've done for the last 30 years. Now a few years ago, chair Peisch, Senator Lewis, and many of the folks here today worked on the Student Opportunity Act. Right? Which was effectively a reaffirmation of the financial side of that, equation. Right? It became apparent that we were not doing what was necessary to support our low-income students. We needed to significantly increase what the state was bringing to the table. Three years into implementation, we've seen $1,500,000,00010224 in new aid, 75% of which is going to the districts with the largest share of low-income students, English language learners, and by the way, the majority of students who right now are struggling to meet whether it's the state or the local graduation standard. Right?
That's where those resources have gone. But like with the Education Reform Act of 1993, those resources have to be combined with statewide standards. They have to be combined with some shared goals. I think there are a couple kind of critical elements of this. One everyone here today is helping pay for the Student Opportunity Act. Right? Every taxpayer in the Commonwealth is supporting a multibillion-dollar increase in what we're spending on K12. I think we'd owe it to all of our fellow citizens to know that that investment is being made in service of some minimum standard of what we want to make sure all students in the Commonwealth can achieve. Right? That's one critical component of it. But the10276 other critical part of it is we know that if we don't combine resources with standards, we're not going to close educational inequities.
We're going to expand those in educational inequities. Going from one minimum statewide standard of graduation to more than10290 300 local standards will increase educational inequity in10294 the Commonwealth. We know this because common sense tells us so, but we also know this because we've been here before. Education reform was born in an environment where we had 300 different standards around the Commonwealth. The goodness is, if you lived in Belmont, your dropout rate in 1992 was less than 1%. It might not have made a huge difference for these children of Belmont over10312 a rate of less than 1%. It might not have made a huge difference for the children of Belmont over the last 30 years. But when you look at the districts with the largest10319 share of low-income students, English language learners, you do see a difference. Let's go back to 2006, which is when the best kind of apples-to-apples DESE data started soon after the competency determination went into effect.
Graduation rates for low-income students hovered around 60%. It's now over 80%. Dropout rates for low-income students, and English language learners have declined precipitously since then, while outcomes of student achievement like taking m AP courses. The number of low-income students taking AP courses is five times higher today than it was, in 2006. Now none of those, indications of improvement are about one standard, one investment. But10355 they are a function of that10357 combination of combining resources with some level of minimum statewide standard. If we were to abandon a minimum statewide standard for graduation in Massachusetts, we would be taking a giant leap backward in education policy in Massachusetts. We would be doing something antithetical to 30 years of education reform in Massachusetts. Most importantly, we would be doing something that would be harming the 2,500, 2,800 students every year who are struggling to graduate from high school. We will be harming the students that the Student Opportunity Act is designed10390 to help. That's why we're opposed to this question. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER1 - Thank you. Are there any questions10396 for mister Hallgate?
Seeing none, we thank you very much for your testimony. Next, we have Ed Lambert.
ED LAMBERT - MBAE - Good afternoon, Madam Chairs, and members of the committee. I'm here today representing the Massachusetts Business Alliance For Education, which as you've heard, played a vital role along with many others back in 1993 as part of a collective consensus in bringing greater equity and quality into our state's education system. I'm here on behalf of our members and affiliates representing over 40 business organizations and business leaders from across the state to oppose this ballot initiative, which would eliminate our state's graduation standard and essentially render a high school diploma meaningless as a measure of10445 whether students are ready for college or career.10447 It's never a good time to lower standards, but doing so when we're facing increasing national and international pressure to maintain our state's economic competitiveness would magnify the impact of this misguided proposal.
More importantly, this measure, if it were to pass, would bring us back to a time when there was much greater inequity in our schools, as you've heard, having different standards in different districts, in different schools for different students was the norm. When some districts have a standard for their students or certain groups of students of just getting by rather than getting ahead. I saw that firsthand myself as a member of the school committee in a gateway city in Fall River back in the eighties. Then as someone who had the privilege to come and serve this house on the Education Committee, when this Bill was passed in 1993. I saw the statewide implications and I saw what happened in certain districts with certain groups of students who were not treated equitably, who had different expectations placed on them that certainly affected their10500 future and the future of the Commonwealth.
A time when a zip code family's income or race dictated expectations. The Education Reform Act of 1993 changed the report that Paul Reville referred to that MBA entitled every child to a winner, and it was based on the need for equity of funding, as well as opportunity for all students in schools. The impetus10522 for the legislation that followed was to accept and act on those values within the10526 reality that our state's educational system ranked in the middle of the pack nationally at the time, that students were graduating high school and prepared for college in the workforce, and the quality of your child's education depended on where you live. With that, all parties, including educators, came together and adopted a model that rather than allowing different standards and expectations in different communities, we would have one single statewide standard and we would match that with an effort to ensure that we would help all students achieve that standard.
Despite some of the concerns raised when the graduation requirement went into effect years later, just as you've heard Doug say, graduation rates went up, dropout rates went10564 down, and student achievement increased for all groups of students, leading Massachusetts to its first-in-the-nation status.10570 Establishing a single statewide standard for graduation has been central to that success. I do today want to address one particular aspect of the arguments made by10580 the proponents of this ballot question. You've heard it here this afternoon, and some very10584 good questions have come from this committee pressing back on that. It is not accurate, and it is misleading for them to say that the state standards will still apply if this question passes. You know the ballot language question says that students would be required to complete coursework certified by a student's district, as demonstrating mastery of the competencies contained in the state academic standards.
While the attempt to suggest that this means that the state standards will still apply, we all know, as we all learn from our high school teachers in our statistics and research courses, if you don't have uniformity in how you assess something, like achievement, then you don't have a single standard. Only a common assessment can ensure that. If this question passes interpretation of the standards by districts, and then whether they have been met will vary from district to district, school to school, and even within schools as teachers grade differently from each other. If you just look at the recent research and the reports of grade inflation that have taken place through and since the pandemic, a trend has been detrimental to students, leading them to believe incorrectly that they are ready for college or a career.
Contrast that with the research done on our 10th-grade exam by Brown University that shows the direct correlation between scores on the 10th-grade MCAS exam, our common assessment, and college and career outcomes. That research also shows that the 10th-grade exam scores predict success and reflect academic skills, not simply socioeconomic status or school characteristics. We should follow the data. As has been said, when the high stakes portion of the MCAS went into effect, grades and scores went substantially up parents and families should know with certainty that their students are prepared for college and career. They, along with business and civic leaders, educators colleges and employers, and the communities we10700 live in should all know that a high school diploma means that it signifies that students are prepared for future success.
The very reason that a democratic legislature and a republican governor undertook a major reform of10713 k through 12 education 30 years ago was to ensure that every student, no matter10718 where they lived or no matter what school district10720 they were in, demonstrated a basic core competency for graduation. We should not revert to the way it used to be with over 330 school districts making their own decisions on what high school graduation means. Make no mistake. If this ballot question passes, there will be no statewide measurement of core competencies in our high schools. The State Department of Education cannot audit courses to determine that this is done correctly. You heard here today about mass core and a lot of the other stuff. Those that are not required in this committee member have been pointed out as not required in any other form except for how we measure it based on results from our common assessment.
It's a rare policy initiative that shows consistent and sustained positive outcomes. Of course, we should always seek to evolve and improve all of our practices, including our assessments. But when you have something that works, you should keep it. About the state's competitiveness and talent pipeline, a healthy state economy is central to our quality of life. Ours is a knowledge-based economy. Life sciences, health care, and Fintech, all require the very best employees to flourish and grow in the Commonwealth post-pandemic where people work, and where companies are located are optional today for many businesses. Competition is fierce for our companies and our good employees. Lowering the standard for graduation and not measuring basic core competencies for our graduating high school students will lower standards and our quality of life across the state.
Let me just close by quoting our secretary of education, Pat Tuckweiler, who recently said in the WBUR interview that every student is capable of passing this test. Our job is to help them do it. We strongly agree. The approach we take in Massachusetts should not be to lower standards. It should be to help every student achieve them. I appreciate the focus that this committee has placed on that aspect of this policy conversation, and that is why we are here today to ask your10839 consideration in rejecting the petition before you. Thank you very much. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER1 - Thank you, mister Lambert.10845 Are there any questions from any members of the committee?
Seeing none,10851 thank you very much for your testimony. The final person that we have invited to testify, this afternoon is, Julie Norton Jill, excuse me, Jill Norton.
Oh, sorry. Looking right at you. Thank you very much.
JILL NORTON - BOSTON SCHOOLS - I want you to know that I timed my testimony, and I'm only going to talk for three and a half minutes since I'm last. Thank you for this opportunity. I am testifying in opposition to ballot initiative number 2336 to remove MCAS from the Commonwealth's graduation requirements. My name is Jill Norton, and I began my career as an elementary school teacher, but I've spent most of my career working in education policy in Massachusetts. I speak to you today as a parent of a son who learns differently because he has dyslexia and ADHD. I want to share my experience with MCAS and what would happen if10909 it was removed as a graduation requirement.10911 At my son's elementary school conferences, my husband and I received encouragement from his teachers that he was10917 okay. He needed support, but he was getting it.
His teachers told us he was making progress and he was happy at school with his friends. Each year, we followed the advice of his teachers to stay the course. Even though his teachers assured us of10938 his progress, he slipped further and further behind each year. By the end of fourth grade, he was not reading. Despite assurances from his teachers that in life, he would be fine, my son's MCAS scores showed us for the first time that he was not meeting grade-level expectations. His scores reflected what we saw at home and validated that we needed to provide him with more specialized support. MCAS was the first time we saw where my son was about grade-level standards. The scores showed us objectively that he had fallen too far behind to be able to catch up.
His MCAS data solidified our decision to pull him out of his district school10984 and get him the targeted and intensive support he needed in a learning environment designed for his brain type of needs. To me, my son's experience in elementary school connects directly with the high school graduation requirement. We need the MCAS graduation requirement because parents like me kids like my son and the teachers who support us need to set a bar for achieving a minimum set of skills in reading, math, and science.11009 The premise of the graduation11011 requirement and tests starting in third grade is that each school year builds on the other, culminating in 10th-grade exams. The idea is that we can use data from each school year to determine what additional support our students need so they can graduate with the skills and knowledge to be successful.
For us, expecting my son to score in11030 the partially meeting expectations range seems fair. Given my son's learning differences, it would be unreasonable to expect him to score in the exceeding expectations range, to earn a diploma. The score that my son needs to achieve on the English Arts MCAS is just three points over and does not meet the expectations bar, as Rob Curtin pointed out. It seems reasonable to expect that he can achieve this kind of basic level of reading, writing,11059 and math skills before he receives his diploma. If my son is not on track to11065 achieve that, I need to know that early enough to do something about it. I needed that information, and I needed to trigger the intensive support that should and often does come with it. Because I do not want my son to graduate from high school without those skills.
After high school, our access to free public schooling ends, and then we parents and guardians are the ones who have to pay to shore up our children's skills so they can lead independent lives and thrive in whatever careers they choose. For us, standardized tests are a guardrail. Not the whole story, but a critical piece that helps orient us as parents. One test score could never sum up my son's strengths and weaknesses. I'm so glad we can also look at his grades and that we can have conversations with his teachers to get a fuller picture of how our son is doing for us. MCAS is similar, as Doctor Howard said, to his driver's test.11121 I won't view that as an indictment of who he is as a person if he fails.11125 We'll just get to work studying and taking the driver's test again until he11129 passes and can and can drive. The same should be true of MCAS.
Without the graduation requirement of a minimum MCAS score, it would be too easy, as11140 happened to him in elementary school, for my11142 son and learners like him to be told11144 they are sweet, funny, and kind, as11146 he11146 is, and be handed a diploma and sent off into the world to fend for themselves. Once that happens, it will be up to us and him to identify and pay for the extra training, support, and coursework he needs to shore up those skills. Giving students a diploma without ensuring they have the skills to thrive in careers and college is misleading them and their families. It denies them11169 something they are entitled to, an education that provides them with a basic level of skill. When my son earns his diploma, I want it to mean he is ready to go into a career or attend the college that he chooses. As you think about the next steps, I urge you to think about kids like my son and his parents, and please don't lower the expectations or the level about the level of skills and knowledge that he's entitled to receive. Please do not remove the requirement to pass MCAS from our state's high school graduation requirements. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER1 - Thank you. Thank you. Are there any questions for miss Norton? Senator Lewis?
SPEAKER9 - Thank you, madam chair.
SPEAKER1 - Before you ask, we I was
11217 yeah.11217 I'm talking about the people who were invited11219 by the committee through our11221 outreach. We have the general public that is11223 coming right after this. So I'm sorry for any confusion. Go ahead, Simon.
FEENEEY- Thank thank you very much for testifying. Thank you for your patience today, everyone who stuck around. I appreciate that your11234 testimony, you know, was informed by your personal experience. You know, I can appreciate, as a parent myself, you know, how important, seeing those, you know, MCAS results and, the role that played in helping you understand, you know, the deficiencies in the services and the supports that your son was getting and that you, you know, was able to help address those over time. I hope, you know, that he's doing well, now.
So I certainly understand how that's played a positive role. I wonder how I had a conversation with another mom, who, just like you and me, you know, just wants what's best for her child. In her case, her son is11281 studying at a vocational high school and is on track to meet the requirements to graduate from that school and is excited11289 to become a11290 plumber. We know we need a lot more plumbers. He11295 is struggling to get, the necessary, minimum score on the MCAS. Just not a good standardized test11303 taker. I've been, very, very difficult, and they're worried that he may not be able to. So I guess, you know, how would you respond to that parent, who's facing that situation as a result of standardized tests?
NORTON - We may be in the same situation ourselves. My son is, going to go into 9th grade, this coming year, so we'll see. I guess my inclination has been the same as when he was in elementary school, which is we need to know where we couldn't11333 get an answer when he was in elementary school about where he was about grade-level standards, so we didn't know how to help.11339 So having a sense of where we are in about grade-level standards is super helpful because then you know how to help and, and where to study. I guess if that were my son studying to be a plumber, I would worry if he didn't have that basic you saw where the band falls, where the score cut score falls.
If he wasn't able to show that level of proficiency, I would worry that he wouldn't also be able to pass any of the training and credentials that he would need to receive11376 to become an advance, in his plumber. I assume he would need to take something to be a master and become a master plumber. He's going to need some skills, to be able to achieve that. Otherwise, he's going to be stuck in that sort of entry-level position. I guess if that were my son, I wouldn't want that. Now is his time to get those skills while he's in high school. Otherwise, he'll11400 be back taking, courses in11403 other ways. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER9 - Thank you.
SPEAKER1 - Any other, questions from any members of the committee? Seeing none, thank you very much for your testimony, miss Norton. And we are now going to move to the, the, quote, general public section of the hearing. And we have 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 people who have signed up as required in advance. And,11428 I believe they are all aware of the fact that they are limited to 3 minutes. So we will start with, Adriana Mason. Is she
here? Just introduce yourself before you start. Thank you.
ADRIANA MASON - CONCERNED CITIZEN - Thank you, Chairpersons and, committee members. For allowing us to kind of go over a little bit to make sure that we can be heard today.11457 There's so much, as I am the mother of a child, diagnosed on the autism spectrum. He's in the sixth grade. There's so much here that has been, when we are having conversations about education, broad stroke education, what concerns me is that when people are talking about the statistics of the children who don't get a diploma and who do get a certificate of completion, we use the words only and just. I take that really to heart as my child is the only and the just. He's a human being, and something that this legislate something that the MCAS and the legislation around it don't take into consideration is his right to a fair and appropriate education, without discrimination because of his disability.11517
So, you know, this is this test has been in place since 2003. It's now 2024. I appreciate that everyone here continues to talk about the carve-outs, the carve-outs, the carve-outs. But11532 where have those conversations been over the last 25, or 30 years? Has anybody stopped11539 to ask why my11541 child who goes to school 180 days a year and arguably has11545 to work harder than any of his neurotypical peers just to access the curriculum at its basic level, walks across the stage and gets a different piece of paper in his folder than the neurotypical valedictorian? We're asking our valedictorian and my child to have to take the same test to achieve the same goal. Now I hear all of the concerns about the standards, and I appreciate the fact that you have to ask these questions, because, no, we don't want to go backwards. However, what this is doing is discriminatory, because my child is not being given equal access to a diploma.
Semantics plays a huge role in a11596 lot of these conversations because when we're11598 talking about graduation, we're talking about diplomas, and we're talking about certificates of completion. We're talking about very different things. So if we don't, my child's future will be determined by whether or not he receives a diploma or a certificate of completion. I do agree we could do carve-outs. I do agree. Maybe we should have more conversations. But why haven't we had the conversations all along? When I was when my son was going into the third grade I sat in his IEP meeting, and I was told he's doing well, but he's not at grade-level standards. We think he should take the MCAS Alt. I was ready to do it. My advocate at the time, thank God, she was there, said, wait a minute. If he takes the MCAS Alt, he won't get a graduate he won't get a diploma, he'll get a certificate of completion.
They weren't going to tell me that. I have friends who I have given that knowledge to as their child is going into high school. We, as the parents of those children, are not being given informed consent. So while I appreciate the question about whether or not we dilute or dull down, the kids who are left behind have not been advocated for or spoken about since the inception of this graduation requirement, since the inception of MCAS. I think that if it was going to be fixed with carve-outs or alternatives, it would have already been done. So if not for questions like this, yes, are we in a society where the pendulum swings too heavily one way and too heavily the other? Yes. But we've been living my son's been people like my son have been living in this society where the pendulum's been over here the whole time. So if nobody was going to acknowledge that, maybe it needs to swing in the other direction for people to take notice.
So in, you know, in honor of all of the marginalized students that are not only and they're not just, they're my child and they're my best friend's child and they're people that I don't even know. Their trajectories are changed. Do you guys have kids? Do you guys have grandkids? If I were to tell you that they were tracked for a certificate of completion in the third grade, what do we know of a child in the third grade? What do we know of a human being in the 9th grade? But we're supposed11748 to put those finite lines on our students. Kids can't go into vocational jobs. They can't go into unions without diplomas. I think it's a disservice to the whole community and the whole Commonwealth. The fact that you can have conversation after conversation, especially with people with children with disabilities, and they don't know what a certificate of completion is. People don't know what it is because people don't talk about it. So people don't respect it. My kid shows up every day, and he should not be discriminated against because of a neurological disability that he has no control over.
PEISCH - Thank you very much for your testimony. I appreciate your patience in waiting. You're taking the time to come and share your story. I also want11799 to, make it very clear that11801 by using those words, that was not if and I certainly the if I use those words, I intended11809 to11809 focus on, what can we do? This is not a large number. What can we do to serve those students better? That is where I think we you know, that's at a minimum, we have to do that regardless of what happens on the concerning the ballot question.
MASON - No. I appreciate it. It is a small fraction of the but it's a small fraction of a certain type of a person. It's not a small fraction of a variety of kids. Right. It's it is particularly impacting the intellectually disabled11841 community, and by definition, that is discrimination. So again, if not for the Thrive Act conversation, if not for the graduation requirement conversation, were we ever going to take up the discriminatory nature of what we're doing to our special education and complex learner population. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER1 - Thank you. Are there any, questions from any members of the committee? Seeing none, thank you very much.
SPEAKER7 - Thank you.
SPEAKER16 - And thank you for letting me go over.
SPEAKER1 - The next person, signed up is Anne Marie Hasson.
EMERY HASSAN - CONCERNED CITIZEN - Thank you,11891 committee members, for the opportunity to speak today. My name is Emery Hassan, and I'm here today to speak to some of my support for removing the MCAS graduation requirement. My child is one of11903 many with special needs in the state of Massachusetts. He has several learning11907 disabilities. Those disabilities include autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, and dyscalculia, which makes his academic learning very challenging. He works hard daily to overcome11918 these challenges through accommodated11920 instruction and support, as well as private tutoring so that he can access the academic curriculum.
He has made leaps and bounds with his hard work to break11931 these barriers that he faces. School staff, private tutors, specialists, developmental doctors at children's and family who all collaborate for his success have observed his accomplishments. However, there is something that consistently does not recognize his accomplishments, and that is the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment system. This test assesses my child who is not the standard. I learned several years ago that if he did not pass the MCAS in11960 high school, he would not receive a high school diploma. Just a certificate of completion. 12 years of hard work both in and out of school will only earn him a certificate.
His future was determined by one test, which was not built with his profile in mind. This test is punitive to children with special needs. What message are we sending to my child and others like him that despite all their hard11985 work both in and out of school to overcome their learning disabilities, it was not enough to earn a high school diploma? that it was not school staff or specialists who were closest with them that made this determination, but a belief by the state of Massachusetts that they were not worthy of it. I ask you today, as well as12004 many of your constituents in the state of Massachusetts,12006 to remove this unnecessary barrier that punishes the most vulnerable children. Their futures depend on this and the punishment of high-stakes testing needs to be. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER1 - Thank and thank you for your, concise but very persuasive testimony. Are there any questions from any members of the committee? We have a question.
FRIEDMAN - Would your child be able to meet the standards of the test if it weren't a test? If they were able to take it in a different or not, I'm not sure what word to use, but Yes. Would they be able to be successful with the information on12058 the MCAS? So it's not that they're not capable of the knowledge. It's the specificity of MCAS.
HASSAN - Yes. He's able to demonstrate that, but just not through that test. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER2 - Great. Thank you.
SPEAKER1 - The next person that has12080 signed up to testify is, Deb Gisaldo. Is that the right pronunciation?
SPEAKER30 - She is not here.
SPEAKER1 - Thank you. Jonathan King, who I know is
SPEAKER7 - here.
JONATHAN KING - MIT - Thank you, Madam Chairs, and members of the committee. Thank you for sitting here the whole afternoon and, taking everyone's testimony. You have to excuse my voice. I got12123 a head cold. So, I'm Jonathan King from 40 Essex Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts. I'm a long-time professor of molecular biology at MIT, where I've taught, hundreds of students who now work in the biotech industry and medical schools and teach them across the country. At MIT, I taught the introductory biochemistry and biology lab, which is an important course there. The entry into the proceeding, for further. I also have a long history of, involvement in science education. I got a page of credentials. I'm hardly ever introduced as a member of the public. I'm flattered. So, I had kids in the school system, so I guess I am.
So, in Science for All Americans and other authoritative reports, our national scientific, leaders identified the need to replace rote learning methods with inquiry-based instruction. Such teaching places scientific methods, experiments, data gathering, observation, and interpretation at the center of instruction. This requires investment in laboratory facilities, in supplies and12216 teacher training, equipment, computer access, and resources. It's very different from the high-stakes12222 test which is very economical. Basically, what myself and my colleagues have learned, is that high-stakes exams are among the most effective means of alienating students from science and math. Such tests replace direct experiments, building things, measuring things, observing things, with, you know, with this learning and drill and kill instructional, technologies.
Many people here have testified about the destructive efforts of the MCAS test on kids who have difficulty in school. Right?12267 The essence of my testimony is it lowers the standard across the Commonwealth for the best students. Right? This is12275 not something that raises the quality of education. It suppresses it. Now, though MIT students come from across the nation, a large group comes12286 from Massachusetts and other states with high-stakes testing. Some years after the MCAS, exams12293 had been right. So, one of the experiments we ran, involved using a high-powered microscope to observe fertilized eggs of zebrafish developing. You see first you see nothing and then you see the heart beating and the head and the eyes extraordinary. Right? No student had ever seen something like that. Not12338 on TV. Not on a not on12340 their game shows. Not in not in the movies.
You have to look very carefully. At some point, we began to get these results where the students would say, oh, well, what should I see? We would say, well, you know, you should see what's in the microscope. Then what should I draw? Right? Well, you should draw what what you see. These students couldn't do that. Right? They had been trained. Right?As you can imagine, MIT for what's the right answer. There's a right answer and a wrong answer. They're going to get the right answer. We didn't test them on what the names of the parts of the microscope were. They would12382 ace that. Our test was, can you focus and see this very complicated phenomenon? The and the MCAS prep kind of kill kills that. Now it also kills that kind of experiment in in high school.
I know I used to be on the board of the Massachusetts Association of High School Teachers but the real creative teachers were unable to put the time in with the real experiment because they had to do the MCAS prep. The MCAS does not allow you to show you know how to do things. Now I want to close. I listened carefully to all the testimony. It all stuff is the fallacy that because there12420 are numbers, you assume the12422 numbers carry a lot of information. Right? When I was in junior high school, I had to go wood shop course where the Grady was, were your pencil sharp, was your hair combed, and did you sweep up? During the semester, we all got better scores because we learned to sharpen the pencils. Did that have anything to do with your job? No. The fact that there's a test out there, an enormous amount of data says nothing about whether those tests measure the important aspect of learning.
In your two early preparations, you learned, that there was creative evidence that the MCAS test measures what we want, Analytic thinking, creativity, and being able to see new things. It does damage the educational system Before high-stakes tests in the United States, American public school graduates led the world in science and technology, telecommunications, genetic engineering, and computing. Right? They didn't need high-stakes tests, right, to get that. High-stakes tests dumb down the education system. It does not raise it. The next time you have a hearing, I'm going to suggest you invite one of the experts on that aspect thanks a lot for hanging in there and hearing me.
PEISCH - Well, thank you very much, Doctor King. Are there any questions? I would just like to let you know, that I don't anticipate that this will have any impact on your views. But, as a result, one of the results of having science as one of the tests has been a greater investment in labs. In high schools, particularly in communities that that did not happen.
KING - Now, are you sure that comes from the test rather than from the legislation that instructs more investment?
PEISCH - Well, there was more. But this was what I remember when there was the debate because I've been around here, unfortunately, too long. I do recall when the Science, MCAS was added, and that was one of the motivators. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
Next, we thank you very much. Next, we have, Timothy, Langan.
TIM LANGAN - NATIONAL PARENTS UNION - My name is Tim Langan12579 and I've been with Massachusetts Parents United12581 and the National Parents Union for the past five years. I don't like tests. I didn't like taking a driving test. I didn't like taking my math test as a kid. I don't like the test when I go on Ticketmaster to prove that I'm a human. I don't like tests. But if I hadn't taken those tests previously, how else12601 would adults have known that I12603 was prepared for life, that I had the skills I needed to succeed, or that I needed outside tutoring, which in some cases I did. I'm also the father of five sons who attend school in Woburn and Somerville. They test me every day. So today I'm here as a dad deeply invested in the future of the families and the kids of our Commonwealth. This conversation about killing the MCAS has the potential to set our kids back in ways that hit home for every parent dreaming of a better future for the next generation.
Nothing's perfect. The MCAS, by no means, is perfect at all. But it gives us a common ground. It's a health check for our educational system. It shows us where we're doing great, and where we need to improve and get to work. Without it, I haven't heard another solution of how we can give the kids the education they deserve or assess. By guessing and hoping that one person with a subjective evaluation gets it right does not work. I have a child who is a victim of grade inflation. He has made the honor roll. I then found that he was two years behind grade level, being able to read, write, or scalp. Yet he got As and Bs. He got As for efforts. We need to make sure that our schools are giving every kid, every child in every corner of the Commonwealth, the tools they need to succeed in life and12675 work to access economic mobility.
We all know education is key to unlocking the world of opportunities. The skills our kids pick up today, in math, science, and English, are the golden tickets to college, to the job market, to where they can be secure in life. Scrapping the MCAS as a graduation requirement would lessen its meaning. It would close the doors for kids before they even have a chance to knock. There's an argument that tests like MCAS create inequity. MCAS don't it doesn't create inequity. It shines12707 a spotlight on it, as we've proven. It shows us the raw, sometimes uncomfortable truth about how not every kid is getting a fair shot at success. That's not just statistics. That's real life for families who they see their children struggle or excel, and wonder what their futures will hold. I would state that12724 that is high stakes for families. Not a test, but whether or not the kids will succeed, whether or not they can read, and whether or not they can be successful in the future.
That's what worries parents. For all the stress that's a claim that these tests, cause for12739 kids and families, one thing12741 that's been left out, by the experts at the AFT, the NEA, and the MTA, is that there's been a decade-long campaign to promote opting out of the MCAS. Yet, the participation rates are very high. Boston, Everett, and Drake are at 100%. Brockton, Malden, Winchester, 99%. Woburn, Cambridge, Chelsea, Fall River, Lawrence, Plymouth, Framingham, and Haverhill are all at 99%. People are not opting out. Parents instead are asking for more support, better schools, a shot at success, more accountability, not less. That's what part of the Student Opportunity Act was when we passed it. More accountability.
They want to know that their children are on the right path and that they see value in having a common yardstick like the MCAS to measure progress and prepare what's what's next. To make sure that a high school diploma means something. So before we toss the MCAS in the bin, let's remind ourselves who we're affecting. It's our kids' future that'll be a casualty of our political debates and our grudge matches. We need to fix what's wrong. By all means, update the MCAS for the future, but let's not throw it away as a compass, just because we don't like the direction it's pointing. Our kids deserve a fair chance at success, and it's our job to give it to them, not take it away. Thank you. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER1 - Thank you. Are12819 there any questions for mister Langan? Seeing none, we'll move12823 to
SPEAKER17 - Thank you.
SPEAKER1 - Thank you to the last person who has signed12827 up to testify, and that is Tricia Long.
TRICIA LONG - CONCERNED CITIZEN - Good afternoon. My name is Tricia Long. I am the mother of a vibrant nine-year-old who attends the Johnny McCarthy School in Peabody. I come before you today not just as a concerned parent, but as a voice for many families in my12850 community who share the same fears about what eliminating MCAS could mean for our12854 children's future, especially when it comes to literacy. Other parties may have brought in outside experts on this matter, but let me tell you my thoughts as a resident and a parent. PBD, which happens to have a 100% participation rate for MCAS despite the ability to opt out, is a vibrant and diverse community. We take pride in our resilience and our ability to come together in tough times.
However, our schools have faced severe challenges, particularly in ensuring all of our children achieve literacy at the expected grade level. This isn't just about reading and writing. It's about giving our kids the keys to unlock every other aspect of education and ultimately their futures. The MCAS will be more than just a test for my son. It will spotlight the areas where both he and the education system need12899 intervention. Without the MCAS data, we would be in the dark about the extent of the literacy crisis facing our children. This data has been crucial in drawing attention and resources to schools in PV, leading to targeted programs and supports aimed at improving literacy12913 rates, and we still have a long way to go.
I need additional data from MCAS scores so the potential issues are out in the open where they can be addressed. I need to be able to see where my child is struggling. Eliminating12926 the MCAS might seem like a way to relieve pressure or stress from kids12930 and teachers, but in reality, it risks silencing the very alarm that has mobilized efforts to tackle our literacy challenges head-on. I would question who is creating the toxic stress around the MCAS because it certainly isn't parents. We know we need this data to advocate for our children, to ensure they're not just passed along, but are genuinely mastering the skills they need to thrive in their education and their future. I understand the concerns around standardized testing. I see the stress it can bring because of how adults have decided to politicize it, but also children in Peabody who thanks to interventions guided by MCAS data.
Finally cracked the code to reading and feel proud to pick up a book12967 because MCAS failed that they12969 needed help. I see a community that understands the magnitude of the task and rising to meet it because we had clear12975 indicators pointing us where to go and is being held accountable to our community for making the changes necessary instead of ignoring us and telling us that we're crazy for asking for improvement for our kids and their futures. In closing, I am urging you as legislators to consider the ramifications of eliminating the MCAS without a clear and effective alternative to measure and address educational disparities, especially in literacy. We need transparency and we need accountability. We do not have the time or luxury of gambling on pipe dreams when the actual lives of our children are hanging in the balance. Most importantly, we need to ensure that all of our children have the literacy skills to navigate and succeed in the world awaiting them. Thank you. SHOW NON-ESSENTIAL DIALOGUE
SPEAKER1 - Thank you. Are there any, questions for miss Long? Thank you very much for your testimony.
That concludes the public, testimony, the, general public testimony at this hearing. The committee will be accepting written testimony on this matter until Friday, March 8th at 5 PM. I understand that there are we have we have been told to expect a fair amount of, written testimony both in, opposition as well as in support of the ballot question. So, for anyone who's interested that is who was unable to be here today, please consider that option. Thank you. And, So moved. Sorry. We are
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