MCAS

Battle lines have been drawn over what may become one of the most hotly contested issues this session — whether or not Massachusetts should maintain a high school graduation requirement tied to students passing a statewide standardized test. The discussion of whether or not to keep the MCAS exam mandate in place has already grabbed headlines this year, with a…

Gov. Maura Healey said Tuesday that “it’s time” to evaluate possible changes to the state’s MCAS standardized exams, but she stopped short of weighing in on the use of the tests as a high school graduation requirement. The Massachusetts Teachers Association is putting its weight behind a potential 2024 ballot question that would decouple MCAS exams from the steps a student...

A group of educators, parents and former students formally filed this petition with the attorney general’s office for a law to remove the requirement that a student pass the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, or MCAS, as a condition to get their high school diploma.

Even if successful, this petition would not get rid of the English language arts, math, or science, technology, and engineering MCAS tests. Under this proposal, students would still have to take them at least twice to graduate, but wouldn’t be required to pass to get a diploma.