Cambridge votes to defy state on MCAS

By Agnes Blum, Globe Correspondent, 4/24/2002

The Cambridge School Committee last night became the second in the state to defy a state
mandate, voting to grant diplomas to high school students who do not pass the MCAS exam.

The School Committee voted 4-3 in favor of the measure after 31/2 hours of heated discussion at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School.

Cambridge follows the Hampshire Regional School Committee in approving a regulation that allows students who fulfill other requirements but fail the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System to receive diplomas. In carrying out the regulation, Cambridge risks state reprisals such as sanctions, lawsuits, or the loss of funding.

In response to Hampshire's move last November, Education Commissioner David P. Driscoll wrote a letter stating that the committee could not award diplomas, only certificates. Certificate
holders would not be considered high school graduates.

Several Cambridge committee members denounced the certificate option.

''It will create a two-tier system that will be race-and-class-based,'' said Alice L. Turkel, a
committee member who voted to eliminate the MCAS requirement.

The committee members debated at length whether their actions would be considered illegal.

Alan C. Price, author of the regulation, urged committee members to challenge the state's
assertion of authority.

''Occasionally agencies put forth regulations that don't make sense,'' Price said, ''and extend
their authority and power.''

Other members, including Mayor Michael A. Sullivan, refused to support the new policy, saying
that it might put the school district in legal trouble. Sullivan said he was not prepared to
use scarce resources to defend a lawsuit. The policy's supporters said they were proud that
Cambridge was a pioneer in the fight against MCAS.

Jonathan King, who has two children in Cambridge schools, said the state was overstepping its
limits by making local districts require high school graduates to pass the MCAS exam.

''Look at the first lunch-counter sit-in,'' King said. ''They said that was against the law,
too.''

Committee member Joseph Grassi said the debate about the MCAS missed the real problem - an
inconsistent curriculum and a policy of social promotion that leads to high failure rates.

''The MCAS is not the be-all, end-all, but it's one tool of assessment,'' he said. ''Attacking
the test is a smokescreen.''

Before the committee voted, 18 Cambridge residents spoke about the damage they believed the
MCAS did to children. No one spoke in favor of keeping the exam as a graduation requirement.


This story ran on page B5 of the Boston Globe on 4/24/2002.
© Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company.
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