In the news the week of April 12, 2003:
- As MCAS testing begins again, students filing the MCAS lawsuit take claims of unequal opportunities to learn back to federal court in Springfield;
- Brookline students continue the Grade 10 MCAS boycott begun by classes before them; and a member of the Class of 2003 explains why she and her classmates persisted in boycotting MCAS at Amherst-Pelham Regional High School;
- The Boston City Council continues to press for a delay in the MCAS graduation requirement;
- MCAS appeals are denied in Groton and Taunton;
- As the impact of budget cuts on core learning opportunities becomes apparent, students in the Berkshires ask why keep MCAS?
- In Agawam, school leaders decide to eliminate foreign language study in favor of more math and English meant to improve MCAS scores - despite objections from some parents;
- School report cards will provide disaggregated MCAS results to parents and communties -- Lowell struggles, Wayland at top of the class - superintendents in both districts agree that MCAS fails to tell the whole story;
- And candidates' opinions on MCAS differ in Braintree legislative race.


AP wire/Boston.com 4/12: US judge to hear MCAS motion
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/103/metro/US_judge_to_hear_MCAS_motion+.shtml
and AP wire/Portsmouth Herald, 4/12: Federal judge agrees to hear MCAS lawsuit
http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/04122003/south_of/22798.htm
See also: AP wire/New Bedford Standard Times, 4/13:  Fed judge will hear MCAS suit
http://www.s-t.com/daily/04-03/04-13-03/b04sr080.htm
        SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Plaintiffs in a lawsuit attempting to bar the state from using the MCAS exam as a graduation requirement have taken their case to a federal court, two weeks after a state court denied their request for a preliminary injunction.
U.S. District Court Judge Michael A. Ponsor agreed to hear a motion for an injunction on May 15. ....
.... The class action suit filed on behalf of students from across the state alleges that the students' right to due process was violated with the graduation requirement. The plaintiffs claim students weren't given adequate preparation to succeed on the tests, or time to prepare for the test.
        In December, Ponsor told the plaintiffs that five of the 10 counts in their suit should be decided in the state courts, and he would put the other counts on hold until state remedies were exhausted.
        After Friday's court session, Darlene M. Lowe, the mother of a Commerce High School senior who has not passed the test, said she is happy Ponsor will hear the case.
        'My son is two points short of meeting the requirement. He's been accepted at a school that teaches video production and will not be able to go if he does not receive a diploma,'' she said
............ This story ran on page B8 of the Boston Globe on 4/13/2003.


Daily Hampshire Gazette, 4/12: MCAS boycott meets her standards
http://www.gazettenet.com/04122003/opinion/5039.htm
        .........It was the first time in my life that I had broken the rules, refusing to take a government-sponsored standardized test. I was standing up for what I believe in, and taking a road that I had avoided until that day. Despite my initial fear, I walked away smiling inside, having liberated my internal voice. ........
        I have always frowned upon the MCAS, for several reasons. First, I believe it is classist and racist. Students at economically disadvantaged high schools, with a higher percentage of students of color, perform poorly on standardized tests. These students are penalized for the quality of their education, which is the state's responsibility. Students from more prosperous Massachusetts districts, made up mainly of white students, pass more easily, due to the superior quality of their schools and the higher level of funds they receive.
        The MCAS also makes little or no effort to accommodate students who speak English as a second language or who have special needs and learning disabilities. Furthermore, the MCAS forces educators to teach a strict curriculum to prepare students for the test...
.........On test day, other student boycotters and I began a small movement. During the two weeks of testing, we were not allowed in the school building. We sat in front of the school, making posters, distributing fliers, arranging meetings with the media and writing letters to state legislators.
        Eventually, we created a school-based chapter of Students Concerned About MCAS, or SCAM....
        Brittany Nickerson, a senior at Amherst-Pelham Regional High, has applied to, and been accepted at, American University and George Washington University, both in Washington, D.C., New School University's Eugene Lang College in New York City and the University of California, Berkeley.


Boston Herald, 4/10:  MCAS averse sophomores snub exam in Brookline
http://www.bostonherald.com/HiasysTools/PrinterFriendly.bg/www2.bostonherald.com/news/local_regional/mcas04112003.htm
        To prove the point that she'd prefer not to graduate than take the MCAS test, Brookline sophomore Sara Skvirsky left school yesterday rather than take the exam.
        Skvirsky and three classmates turned their backs on the high-stakes test yesterday to the cheers of a crowd of demonstrators outside Brookline High School.
        ``We all got handed the test, and when they said you may begin, we got up, handed the test back and walked out of the building,'' she said.....
.... Along with the Brookline demonstration, scattered pockets of students across the state took up the cause by refusing to take it, said Jackie King, a Cambridge organizer with the anti-test group MassCARE.
        ``It calls attention to the problem, and it demonstrates how deeply a number of families in the commonwealth feel about this misguided policy,'' she said....


Springfield Republican, 4/11: Some seniors to get special certificates
http://www.masslive.com/springfield/republican/index.ssf?/base/news-4/1050046443209762.xml
        SPRINGFIELD - High school seniors without passing scores on Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System test will be able to march in graduation ceremonies, thanks to a School Committee vote last night.
        But the 4-2 vote - Mayor Michael J. Albano was absent - came after a tense debate about the value of certificates showing that students meet all other requirements for completion of high school.
Of the 1,134 seniors, 794 have passed the mathematics and English tests now required by state law to earn diplomas. Of the 340 students without the MCAS scores, 256 have met all local requirements.....
..... [M]embers Nicholas A. Fyntrilakis and Robert E. McCollum argued against allowing seniors to march simply for certificates. Both voted in favor of a motion that failed last month to flout state law and grant full diplomas without regard to MCAS scores.
        "In my estimation this is a charade, a farce," Fyntrilakis said.
        "You're giving them a piece of paper that's worthless. Where were you three weeks ago when you could have voted for the full diplomas," he said.
        McCollum said MCAS is setting the stage for a generation of mostly minority children who will have few options for a better life.
        He cited his own life as an example: A High School of Commerce dropout, McCollum earned a General Educational Development certificate while in the armed services in Vietnam. He came home and earned an associate's degree at Springfield Technical Community College.
        Starting in June 2005, students will have to pass the MCAS tests to earn GEDs.
        "The state is cutting off all the avenues students can take to improve their lives. You're going to end up with a group of people who will have to find other ways to survive," McCollum said........

        
Boston Herald, 4/10: City councilors urge delay in MCAS graduation requirement
http://www.bostonherald.com/HiasysTools/PrinterFriendly.bg/www2.bostonherald.com/news/local_regional/mcas04102003.htm
..... Saying there is a disparity between minority and white achievement on the high-stakes, state-mandated exam, district councilors Chuck Turner and Charles Yancey and at-large Councilor Felix D. Arroyo urged the school committee and Superintendent Thomas W. Payzant to take a stand.
        ``We simply don't believe we should have a one-size-fits-all test, and I know many of you share that view,'' said Yancey, who represents Dorchester and Mattapan.
        There was no formal response from the committee, but [Supt.Thomas] Payzant in the past has supported the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System exam.....
.......... The city council has already passed a resolution 11-1 in favor of asking the state to delay the graduation requirement.
        Turner, of Roxbury, argued the requirement should be delayed until there is no achievement difference between minority and white students, a statement echoed last night by representatives of the city's Black Ministerial Alliance.
        More than 6,000 high school seniors will not graduate with their class because they have not passed the exam. Thirty percent of Hispanics and 25 percent of blacks have failed so far, compared with 6 percent of whites and 10 percent of all students, state figures show.......


Taunton Gazette, 4/11:  Student attendance could affect ability to get MCAS waiver
http://www.tauntongazette.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=7679263&BRD=1711&PAG=461&dept_id=24232&rfi=6
        TAUNTON -- Some Taunton High School students aren’t eligible for an MCAS waiver because they failed to meet the state’s 95 percent attendance requirement.
        In fact, the 95 percent rate is a higher attendance percentage than the school’s average, which is at about 90 percent. The state’s MCAS requirement of 95 percent allows students to miss only nine days per year.....
........ Twenty-nine Taunton High School tests have failed the MCAS test, a requirement for graduation. However, Jackman said he hopes that 12 students will become eligible to graduate through a waiver process run by the Department of Education....


Groton Landmark, 4/9:  MCAS appeals denied in process 'fraught with peril'
http://www.grotonlandmark.com/Stories/0,1413,107%7E5174%7E1312793,00.html
        AYER -- Appeals on behalf of two seniors who failed the MCAS math testing have been turned down by the state Dept. of Education, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kevin O'Malley told the Ayer School Committee.
        At the same time, O'Malley commended these two students and two others who did not pass the math test -- three by one incorrect answer and the fourth by two wrong answers -- for their determination to continue to strive to pass.....
..... From his perspective on the state's appeal process, O'Malley told the committee, "The state has an appeals process but it is fraught with peril." It offers hope to many but in many cases dashes that hope. An example of this, as cited by O'Malley, is that while school districts provided portfolios of the work efforts of some 7,000 special needs students who had failed tests, the state found in favor of only one appeal. As regards the appeals filed for Ayer students, he said, "You can't have a better appeal than we put in for one of the two."...........


Springfield Republican, 4/10: [Agawam school] Board hears plea for languages
http://www.masslive.com/metrowest/republican/index.ssf?/base/news-3/1049959831265000.xml
        AGAWAM - Some Agawam Middle School parents and students this week urged officials to reconsider the decision to cut foreign language classes next year.....
.... School administrators stand by their decision to cut the program and replace it with additional math and English class time in an effort to boost standardized state test scores.
        "It's the right thing to do for the majority of children," Middle School Principal Ralph A. Zavarella said yesterday.....
.... On Jan. 28, the School Committee voted unanimously to implement a proposal by Zavarella. As part of the proposal, two programs, family and consumer science and the foreign language exploratory studies in which sixth-graders learn French for half a school year and Spanish for the other half, will be cut.
        Teachers in both programs will be reassigned, Zavarella said. Such changes were made to provide more help in math and English to boost pupils' test scores as mandated by the state and federal governments. "The data drove the decision," Zavarella said.
        As evidence, Zavarella cited the sixth-grade math scores on the statewide Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment Test......

 
AP wire/Boston.com, 4/8: House panel mulls education proposals
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/098/metro/House_panel_mulls_education_proposals-.shtml
        The state should ease the new bilingual education law, consider a moratorium on new charter schools, and postpone expanding the MCAS test to include science and history, a House panel is preparing to recommend. .....
..... Among the dozens of recommendations are several aimed at easing the new bilingual education law approved last year by voters. The law creates a one-year ''immersion'' program, designed to get students with limited English skills into regular classrooms more quickly.
        The report recommends that schools be allowed ''to continue successful programs'' that are essentially barred under the new law. It would require schools to send parents regular reports on their child's progress in learning English.
        The report also recommends putting off plans to give MCAS tests in history and science. Currently the state gives only math and English MCAS tests, which students must pass to get a high school diploma.
        'By limiting MCAS to math and English language arts, districts would be able to focus limited resources to effectively meet the requirements of [the federal] No Child Left Behind [act],'' the report said......
........ This story ran on page B4 of the Boston Globe on 4/8/2003.


Berkshire Eagle, 4/6: Students try to emphasize cuts' effects to lawmakers
http://www.berkshireeagle.com/Stories/0,1413,101~6282~1303874,00.html A
        GREAT BARRINGTON -- Friday afternoons are a good time for high school students to dash out of the corridors and dive into their weekend scene.
        But Friday, at an after-school assembly that drew some 70 students, teachers and interested citizens, two Berkshire state legislators got a grilling from students over the state's proposed budget cuts to schools, and how the loss of teachers and programs would affect their classrooms, their enthusiasm and their futures.....
.... "Do you understand these cuts, like band, music, art, are why people want to come to schools?" Robin Hicks, a Monument Mountain sophomore, asked of state Sen. Andrea F. Nuciforo, D-Pittsfield, and state Rep. William J. "Smitty" Pignatelli, D-Lenox.
"People get into college because of these other programs, too," she pleaded.
Emily Carlotta, a freshman, said that without the breadth of programs offered at Monument -- the arts, woodworking, cooking, auto mechanics and other nonrequired classes -- "we'll be walking zombies here."....
..... [Legislators] clarified that it's not state legislators and governors who cut band and music programs; that those decisions are made by local school committees, based on a pot of money the district receives from the state.
But students didn't miss the big picture: They could be left with core programs and limited electives, primarily, if the state doesn't step up to its educational obligations......
..... Another student asked Friday whether the state could save education funds by eliminating the controversial MCAS tests, a suggestion for which he received a round of hearty applause.....
..... Nuciforo and Pignatelli said it's unlikely such a cut would pass muster anytime soon. Pignatelli said he supports eliminating the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System tests as a graduation requirement, and would redirect the $53 million in remediation funds used to help struggling students pass the test
"That money could go a hell of a long way to maintain teachers and programs," said Pignatelli, who has confessed himself to having struggled mightily with testing requirements back in high school.....
..... At 5 p.m., the meeting was still going strong, with few students heading out for Friday night's social scene.....


Globe North Weekly, 4/6: Education backslide predicted; teachers, programs may be cut
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/096/north/Education_backslide_predicted+.shtml
...... From Revere to Rockport, school superintendents say without sufficient state funding they will be unable to meet the demands of the 1993 Education Reform Act. The state law was intended to equalize school finances among rich and poor communities, and ensure that all high school graduates have mastered certain skills.
Over the years, billions of state dollars have been pumped into low-income communities in an effort to improve public education, reduce class sizes, and provide extra help to students who might otherwise fall through the cracks. To measure a school district's success in boosting student achievement, the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System exam was introduced.
Beginning with the class of 2003, students must pass the English and math portions of the 10th grade MCAS test to earn a diploma. Today, a high school diploma is a standard requirement for many jobs as well as for acceptance at colleges and vocational schools. But, given the state's fiscal crisis, area school superintendents say they will be forced to increase class sizes and pare the tutoring programs that have helped hundreds of students clear the MCAS hurdle.
''The premise in education reform was equity in funding,'' said Revere Superintendent Paul S. Dakin. ''With the cuts that are being proposed, we are facing a funding dilemma. At a time when President Bush is saying `No child will be left behind,' we are going to be leaving children behind. My staffing levels next year are going to be back to the 1993 staffing levels, with 1,000 more students......
..... ''Class sizes will increase. Instead of three or four classes at every grade level, there will be two or three. Support services, like guidance services, MCAS prep classes, and tutoring programs, will be eliminated or reduced,'' [Everett Supt. Frederick] Foresteire said. ''These are cuts we're going to have to make in order to keep classroom teachers.''.....
..... In Rockport, Superintendent Joseph Lisi is once again urging voters to approve an override request to cover a $400,000 shortfall in school spending for fiscal 2004. If the override does not pass next month, Lisi said the school system will face teacher layoffs and the reduction or elimination of critical courses - for example, MCAS preparation, foreign languages, reading, and English.....
...... Noted Everett Superintendent Foresteire: ''When the state cannot support its mandates - the MCAS graduation requirement, the demand for more professional development - the mandates loose their teeth. They have no meaning, no bite.''
This story ran on page 1 of the Globe North section on 4/6/2003.


New Bedford Standard-Times, 4/7: Parents to get report card on kids' schools
http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/04-03/04-07-03/a01sr008.htm
BOSTON -- Beginning today, parents across the state will be sent, for the first time, a comprehensive report card on the performance of their children's schools and the qualifications of their teachers under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
The annual report card will include results from the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System exam, dropout rates, the racial and economic composition of schools and the percentage of teachers who are licensed or "highly qualified" to teach certain subjects, like math and science. ....
..... Much of the information, including MCAS scores, is already given to parents over the course of the year. But the statistics on teacher qualifications have never before been released, and all the information has never been put together in one package for parents.....
..... The results are expected to continue to show the disparity between wealthier suburban schools and poor, urban districts that traditionally have a harder time filling teacher slots.
Parents will be sent a report card solely about their children's school, but superintendents also will be required to make districtwide report cards available to the public.....
.... Massachusetts will be issuing a statewide report card in June.....
..... Mr. Driscoll said the state needs to improve its data collection on teacher qualifications, which it has not done before. This year, it is relying on information compiled by the Teachers' Retirement Board.....
.....This story appeared on Page A1 of The Standard-Times on April 7, 2003.


Springfield Republican, 4/8: Parents getting school reports; It could take a few weeks for all parents to receive the reports, since some schools will send them with student report cards.
http://www.masslive.com/springfield/republican/index.ssf?/base/news-4/1049787093130010.xml
........ Included is data on enrollment, race and ethnicity, gender, and children with special needs and limited English proficiency. Parents also find out for the first time what percentage of teachers are certified, and more specifically, certified in the subjects they teach.
        The information also includes how schools fare on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System tests, and whether they are meeting new federal standards for improvement.  Parents in schools where progress is lagging may request transfers to better schools or tutoring for their children.
        In Springfield, the largest district in Western Massachusetts, 16 of 46 schools have been labeled underperforming by the federal standards. ...
.....Holyoke will have the reports ready soon, said Superintendent Eduardo B. Carballo. He said information prepared by the Department of Education contained errors his staff is having difficulty correcting.
Carballo also questioned the wisdom of spending money to send out the reports. He has estimated the mailing bill at $7,300. .....


Lowell Sun, 4/8: Lowell report cards on schools, not students, go out today
http://www.lowellsun.com/Stories/0,1413,105~4746~1307084,00.html
Starting today, school districts are sending out newly mandated reports that give a wealth of statistical information about the district and its schools everything from MCAS scores to the level of teacher qualifications to the demographics of the student population.
Yet, much like complaints about student report cards, some administrators believe the information on the reports, while valuable, doesn't tell the whole story.
"It still gives a narrow picture and an incomplete picture of the school, but it can have its place," said Lowell Superintendent Karla Brooks Baehr. "We hope we'll be able to both streamline it and add some additional useful information in the future." .....
.... The reports show how students at a school perform on standardized tests and whether adequate yearly progress has been shown. Under new federal standards, schools are required to show a certain amount of MCAS improvement each year. Schools that have met their target are marked with a "Y"; those that have not are marked with an "N." ........


Metrowest Daily News, 4/13: Wayland at top of the class
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/local_regional/wayl_topofclass04132003.htm
        A brief look at the results confirmed the obvious: Wayland continues to set a very high bar in public education....
.... "I am pleased with the results," said [Supt. Gary A.] Burton. "I think we have a very talented group of children to start with and they should do well. I'm not a big fan of the MCAS test. It's time intensive, it give students unnecessary stress and is narrowly focused. I do not think it accurately demonstrates the school's entire richness of curriculum."........




Globe South Weekly, 4/6: Special 5th district House race in final leg
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/096/south/Special_5th_District_House_race_in_final_leg+.shtml
BRAINTREE Braintree Selectman Joseph R. Driscoll, winner of a crowded Democratic primary last week, and Republican hopeful Matthew Sisk of Braintree will battle for votes over the next five weeks in the special election for state representative in the 5th Norfolk District. ....
..... Driscoll does not rule out new state taxes, and as a selectman, he voted to put the Braintree property tax hike on the ballot. Driscoll opposes MCAS testing as a high school graduation requirement, which Sisk supports.
This story ran on page 1 of the Globe South section on 4/6/2003.