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Parents: Do you support removing the MCAS graduation requirement?
If the ballot question passes, students will still take the test, which will gather data about student performance. But a diploma won’t hinge on passing it.
The ballot question to remove the MCAS standardized test as a graduation requirement is supported by the state’s largest teachers union, while many business and state leaders are against it. But, how do parents feel about Question 2?
The Massachusetts Teachers Association, the main proponent of Question 2, argues that the graduation requirement unfairly holds back students of color, low-income students, students with disabilities, and students who are English learners.
If the ballot question passes, students will still take the test, which will gather data about student performance, but graduation won’t hinge on passing it.
Both sides have claimed the support of parents. MTA Vice President Deb McCarthy said “there are thousands of parents out there that have a story to tell” about their student struggling with the MCAS graduation requirement.
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The National Parents Union’s founder Keri Rodrigues is actively campaigning for the Vote No on 2 campaign. She argues the test holds public school districts and teachers accountable, while the MTA wants to “give up” on certain students.
“Who do you think pays for that? It’s parents. It’s families,” Rodrigues said, referring to extra tutoring sometimes required catch some students up. “What they are doing is kicking the can down the road and saying, ‘you know what, we just can’t serve these kids.’”
Are you a parent? Which way will you be voting? Do you think the graduation requirement is unfair to some students, or do you think it’s needed here in Massachusetts? Share your opinion below and it may be featured in an upcoming Boston.com story.
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Read more about Question 2 here.
Parents: Should Mass. eliminate the MCAS graduation requirement?
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