MTA Analysis of Graduation Requirement Listening Sessions
What does the public have to say about what students need to know when they graduate high school? At listening sessions held to gather feedback for the Statewide K-12 Graduation Council, the feedback was overwhelmingly against standardized testing.
MTA statement on interim report from the Statewide K-12 Graduation Council
Including state-developed and graded end-of-course exams in a set of new proposals for high school graduation requirements poisons a once-in-a-generation opportunity for stakeholders to come together and remake the high school experience for our students.
The proposals for new graduation requirements, written by Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler and Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Pedro Martinez, include valuable ideas promoted by educators, parents, community advocates and educational experts, and are strongly supported by the MTA.
But by making new state standardized tests a central component of the new graduation requirements, the proposal defies the will of voters who made clear their wishes in the 2024 Question 2 referendum, which passed by nearly 60 percent in favor.
Alternatives to high-stakes testing offered in new report
When voters eliminated the use of standardized MCAS exams as a statewide graduation requirement, Massachusetts was handed an opportunity to dramatically improve public education in the state by expanding learning opportunities.
In response, the Massachusetts Teachers Association’s Center for Education Policy and Practice and the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, known as FairTest, prepared a report outlining alternatives to high-stakes standardized tests that measure student readiness for graduation in the 21st century. Whereas educators criticized the use of MCAS exams as a graduation requirement for shrinking what is taught, various other methods for assessing academic proficiency encourage a broader approach to teaching and learning.
The MTA and Massachusetts Association of School Committees sent the report today to state Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler and Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Pedro Martinez, who together chair a council of stakeholders considering new statewide requirements for a high school diploma. The MTA and MASC both are represented on the council examining high school graduation requirements.
