[ Home ]

Petition

Who We Are
Diplomas
Legislative
Chapters
CARE Plan
Legal
Voices
SPED Issues
Boycotts
Meetings/Events
Contact Us
News
Publications
Links

Please copy, circulate and distribute widely.

Suspend MCAS Petition

This petition can be downloaded and printed out. Click " File," then " Save As" on your web browser, and save it in a directory where you can later retrieve it. Or block, copy, and paste the text into a word processor.

For the electronic form of the petition, click here

Fall 1999

Dear Friend of Public Education:

We are parents, teachers and students who support the provision of an excellent education to fully develop the talents and skills of every child in the Commonwealth. This requires fiscal resources, trained personnel, and an enlightened educational program that recognizes that all children can learn at a high level.

Unfortunately the recent imposition of the high stakes MCAS test by the State Board of Education is undermining our children's opportunity for such quality education. The test was introduced by a small group appointed to the State Board of Education by Governors Weld and Cellucci, unrepresentative of the parents, teachers and students in the Commonwealth's public education systems.

The MCAS test:

Violates the 1993 Education Reform Act, which calls for "A variety of assessment instruments."
Narrows and restricts curricula.
Burdens teachers and students with an extremely lengthy test regime (longer than the Mass. Bar exam).
Devalues technical, linguistic, musical, athletic and vocational skills.
Introduces obstacles to disadvantaged students.
Will force high schools to deny diplomas to deserving students.
Discriminates against public school students, since private and parochial students are exempt from the MCAS requirement.

We ask you to consider signing the attached petition, and to circulate copies to your friends, neighbors and school associates. In addition, if you are interested in supporting boycott efforts contact us at the address below. Our actions can influence both municipal officials, as well as the candidates for State Representatives in the fall of 2000. The legislature has the authority to eliminate the MCAS test and direct it to be replaced with a system of multiple assessments tuned to the needs of our children.

In Wisconsin, parents organized against high stakes tests and the Legislature altered the requirement.

Sincerely,

Cambridge Parents Against MCAS

Coalition for Authentic Reform of Education

**************

Please copy, circulate and distribute widely.

Petition to Our Elected Officials: Suspend MCAS

We, the undersigned parents, students, teachers, and educators support the provision of an excellent education that will fully develop the talents and skills of every child in the Commonwealth. We therefore call on local and state elected officials to take immediate action to suspend use of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) test in our public schools. The legislature should instruct the State Board of Education to carry out the spirit of the 1993 Education Reform Act, including:

Introducing a variety of assessment instruments as criteria of educational achievement, and
Eliminating "high-stakes" tests as a graduation or promotion requirement.

Name:__________________________________________________________________

Street:__________________________________________________________________

Town:__________________________________________________________________

School/grade_________________________parent/teacher/student/concerned citizen

Phone:______________________________email:_______________________________

*************
Name:__________________________________________________________________