Question 2 of the state’s five ballot questions for the Tuesday, Nov. 5 national election asks residents of the Commonwealth whether or not they want to eliminate the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) tests, or other statewide or district-wide assessments, as a graduation requirement to receive a high school diploma.

MCAS was created in 1993 by lawmakers as part of an education reform law that had the goal of “improving accountability and school performance,” according to WBUR. The standardized test was first implemented in 1998 and students have been required to achieve sufficient scores in order to receive their high school diploma since the class of 2003.

The editorial titled ‘Look to recent history — and vote no on Question 2’ from the Oct. 30, 2024 issue of The Boston Globe, provided a more detailed timeline of the MCAS at the beginning of the century.

According to the editorial, at least 52% of students failed the math MCAS exam during the first two years of the exam’s existence and the English scores never exceeded 72%. The Globe reported on Oct. 15, 2001, the day the MCAS results for the class of 2003 were released, that the number of 10th graders who failed the test dropped by nearly half.

The proposed law has been made a ballot question because no vote was taken by the Senate or the House of Representatives before May 1, 2024.

A vote yes: Lynn Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Evonne S. Alvarez

A vote ‘yes’ on ballot Question 2 will eliminate passing the MCAS to be a high school graduation requirement across the Commonwealth.

Dr. Alvarez is in her second school year as the superintendent of LPS.

LPS has a “disproportionate” number of students who are Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE) and the MCAS does not support students who are new to the American school system and are still learning English, she said.

“A vote of ‘yes’ would give us the flexibility to determine as a district, by design, what it is that we are going to measure to ensure that graduation certification is appropriate,” Dr. Alvarez said. 

She said the district may evaluate students on performance-based assessments as an alternative, such as writing and problem-solving skills.

“Determining high-school graduation based only on passing the MCAS does not support all students,” Dr. Alvarez said.

“In the 30 years that I have been working in different roles — as a teacher, as a principal, as a district administrator — I know for certain that students perform differently on assessments depending on what their strengths are… Saying that one academic test is the only measure of success after high school, doesn’t sit well with me.” Dr. Alvarez said. 

“The philosophy cannot be that we educate all students —  that we differentiate instruction to ensure that they’re learning — and then we only give them one type of exam,” she said.

According to Ballotpedia, Alvarez’s vote ‘yes’ aligns with the Massachusetts Teachers Association. The MTA is the top donor to the campaign and has contributed all $9.7 million of the total donations.

“Massachusetts residents are ready to join the vast majority of states that have scrapped the use of standardized tests as a graduation requirement and instead use authentic, educator-designed assessments of student skills. The MCAS will still be taken, as is required by federal law, but it will be used for diagnostic purposes, and not as a high-stakes test required for earning a diploma,” MTA President Max Page said.

A vote no: Former Lynn Public Schools Superintendent Dr. James Mazareas

A vote ‘no’ on ballot Question 2 will not change the current law and passing the MCAS will remain a requirement for high school graduation. 

Dr. Mazareas served as superintendent of Lynn Public Schools in the late 1990’s, and retired in 2002. 

He recalled what he described as a shift in education when the MCAS was first given out and when it eventually became a graduation requirement for high school in the Commonwealth.

“The biggest fallacy is that you teach to the test,” Dr. Mazareas said. “You can’t teach to the test. What you have to do is teach the skills that the kids need to succeed. The MCAS requires the student to be able to read the question, understand it, think critically and analytically, to answer it, and then be able to justify their answer.”

He believes the MCAS requirement helped the district invest in teacher training, and teachers felt more supported from the administration.

Dr. Mazareas also said the standardized graduation assessment was beneficial to all demographics of the district because it provided them with higher standards in their education.

“I thought the best thing that ever happened for urban, poor children was the MCAS and the high standards,” he said.

According to Ballotpedia, Mazareas’ vote ‘no’ aligns with Massachusetts Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler and Gov. Maura Healey.

At an Askwith Education Forum hosted by the Harvard Graduate School of Education earlier this month, parties on both sides of the ballot question debated with each other.

At the forum, Tutwiler pointed out Question 2 does not offer an alternative standard for graduation across the Commonwealth, but the Healey-Driscoll administration plans to continue working on high school reforms, no matter what the result of the vote is.