Supporters of ballot question to end MCAS graduation requirement kick off ad campaign

Supporters of passing the MCAS ballot question this November, which would end the MCAS graduation testing requirement, kick off their paid digital ad campaign.David L. Ryan/Globe Staff

The fight over a November ballot question that calls for ending the MCAS high school graduation testing requirement accelerated Tuesday as proponents began airing their first paid video ads in what could be an increasingly expensive political campaign.

The $250,000 digital ads will run across the state on streaming platforms, such as Hulu and YouTube TV, kicking off proponents’ paid advertising effort. The broader advertising campaign will span broadcast media, including the Boston television market, and could be costly, potentially exceeding eight figures, according to the Committee for High Standards Not High Stakes, a group of proponents backed by the Massachusetts Teachers Association that is pushing for the demise of the MCAS graduation requirement at the ballot box.

“This is just the beginning of the rollout,” Deb McCarthy, vice president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, said in an interview with the Globe. “There will be more to come for sure.”

The advertising blitz comes one month after a group of opponents backed by business leaders, known as “Protect Our Kids’ Future: Vote No on 2,″ launched its first video ads. Those ads were among the first initiated by any of the campaigns involved in the five ballot questions that will appear on November’s state ballots, which encompass a range of issues from legalizing psychedelic mushrooms to allowing ride-share drivers to unionize.

The MTA has already put more than $1 million behind the MCAS ballot question efforts, which has included canvassing and signature collecting over the past year.

The union and other proponents of Question 2 emphasize that if voters approve the measure, MCAS testing would still continue in high school — a requirement under federal law — but students would no longer have to pass the English, math, and science tests in order to receive their diplomas.

Instead, students would be required to complete coursework certified by their district that is consistent with the state’s academic standards. The ballot question would also prohibit any future statewide assessment from being used as a graduation requirement.

The MTA has long been concerned that the MCAS requirement can create inequities in public schools by creating too much anxiety and punishing those who struggle with standardized tests, particularly students with learning or physical disabilities or who are not fluent in English. The union further argues the mandate puts too much focus on a narrow set of topics and that classrooms have become “too focused on test prep.”

More than 700 high school students each year typically don’t receive a diploma because they didn’t pass the tests, according to state data.

McCarthy said it is paramount that voters pass Question 2.

“I was an educator for 25 years in the fifth-grade classroom, and I left the classroom so that I could use my voice exclusively for this issue,” McCarthy said. “This issue represents a lot that we are seeing with social, emotional issues with our students.”

The new 30-second ad, “Say Yes,” emulates a feel-good vibe as it espouses the merits of supporting the ballot question. It opens with a teacher at the head of the class and a mother and father hugging their daughter. A narrator emphasizes that approving the ballot initiative would still keep high academic standards in place, but he adds teachers would no longer have to teach to a test.

“So teachers can focus on how individual students learn — assessing grades, papers, and participation to help develop critical thinking and creativity,” the narrator in the ad says.

Opponents of the ballot question argue that scrapping the testing requirement would reduce educational expectations for all students, which could ultimately harm their futures.

The pair of digital ads launched last month by “Protect Our Kids’ Future: Vote No on 2″ didn’t actually mention the MCAS exams. Instead, in one ad, a Revere High School history teacher warns of “an effort to undermine our education standards,” saying it will “create an unlevel playing field.”

The ads were expected to run on digital and social media platforms for roughly three weeks, and were only the first the group intended to release.

The No campaign doubled down on its opposition Tuesday, saying the proponent’s ad contained “outright lies designed to mislead voters.”

“If Question 2 passes, the only remaining state graduation standard would be that students take four years of gym class,” the campaign said in a statement. “Massachusetts would have lower statewide graduation standards than states like Mississippi and Alabama.”