The test raises the bar for students and teachers alike
Re “She’s taking the MCAS fight to state’s voters: Ex-teacher from Hull helped build support on initiative to limit test” (Page A1, Oct. 1): Deb McCarthy, vice president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, states that the MCAS “harms students” and creates too much stress and anxiety for them.
But the reality is that the requirement that students pass the MCAS for graduation raises the bar for schools. It ensures basic learning.
Teachers who prepare students with the skills tested not only help students learn, but they also become even better teachers when they find their students perform well on the MCAS. I see this nice learning through my online courses and teacher training.
From my 20 years in Massachusetts schools noting what teachers do to help students learn the literacy, math, and science required for the MCAS, I’m gratified by how this test improves learning. Rather than harming students, it helps prepare them for life after school.
It’s rewarding to see the individual help that students get from their teachers for the multiple retakes available. Only about 700 students each year are denied diplomas solely because of the test requirement. Schools are set up to support teachers with providing individual last-minute help to students who struggle.
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The fact that Massachusetts schools are tops nationally is due to the MCAS graduation requirement. Dropping the expectation would reduce learning that students need for life.
Katherine Scheidler
Providence
The writer, who holds a doctoral degree in education from Boston University, is the author of “Standards Matter: The Why and What of Common Core State Standards in Reading and Writing” and “Renegade Teacher: Inside School Walls with Standards and the Test.”
It’s a stretch to say teachers are ‘divided’ over Question 2. She contends most are for it.
Thank you to James Vaznis for his story about Deb McCarthy, one of the leaders behind Question 2. I took issue, however, with a line in the article. Vaznis wrote, “Question 2 has divided the state’s education community.” Yes, you can find a teacher here and there who wants to maintain the MCAS as a graduation requirement, but the vast majority of teachers I’ve spoken to support Question 2. We have seen how it has harmed thousands of students and narrowed and warped our curriculum.
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When teachers in the Cambridge Public Schools were polled recently, less than 10 percent supported using the MCAS as a graduation requirement. I would not call that a “divided” community.
Kathy Greeley
Cambridge
The writer is a retired public school teacher and the author of “Testing Education: A Teacher’s Memoir.”
