MCAS in the news (5/15 - 5/19) 

A story on the MCAS problems faced by students whose first language is not English highlights the students most at risk from the high school graduation requirement and raises the question of whether MCAS is a fair test of English literacy.

Other MA stories look at the student/parent-sponsored protest on the Common [with music, skits, and inspiring words from students and their supporters, including Felix Arroyo, Chuck Turner, Karen Hartke, Judith Baker, Alfie Kohn, Jon King -- and
forgive me for not naming everyone] and the boycott; MCAS content problems, MCAS logistical problems; and the schools that have won recognition from MassInsight and the DOE.

Also, a recent Harris poll finds that parents rate testing very low as a way to improve schools. 


New Bedford Standard-Times, 5/19: MCAS on trial at UMass
http://www.s-t.com/daily/05-01/05-19-01/a01lo005.htm

During a legislative symposium on MCAS, representatives from the state associations of superintendents, teachers and
school committees urged the state Legislature to defer use of the exam as a single assessment for graduation.....
.... Although the class of 2003 -- now sophomores -- is required to pass the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment
System test before graduating, more than 40 legislative bills have been filed to delay or repeal the graduation requirement....
"I look at the MCAS debate like a complex civil litigation," said Glenn Koocher, executive director of the Massachusetts
Association of School Committees. 
"The Department of Education is the defendant and on the other side you have the plaintiff of teachers, students, parents
and superintendents who are complaining the test isn't fair. Sitting in judgment is the Legislature. Of course I believe it will be
settled out of court." 
[Craig Jerald, a senior policy analyst with The Education Trust in Washington, D.C.] urged legislators to stay the course
and not back down from the graduation requirement. ...
.... Jeffrey Nellhouse, manager of student assessment for the state Department of Education, and William Guenther, director of
a nonprofit pro-MCAS organization, also spoke in support of the graduation requirement yesterday. 
They pointed to the increased funding that school districts have received for MCAS remediation programs, and to the fact
that students can retake the test multiple times. ....
.... "[Students are] taking it much more seriously," [Nellhaus] said. "If we pull back now, we'll lose that." ....
.... State Reps. George Rogers of New Bedford, a former vocational-technical teacher and staunch MCAS opponent who
filed the first bill to repeal the test, and Antonio F.D. Cabral, also of New Bedford, said they will do whatever possible to
eliminate the graduation requirement. 
Reps. John Quinn of Dartmouth, Michael Rodrigues of Westport and David Sullivan of Fall River also pledged to "weigh
seriously the benefits of deferring the requirement." ....


Springfield Union News, 5/19: Three [western MA] schools lauded for excellence
http://www.masslive.com/springfield/unionnews/index.ssf?/news/pstories/ae519sch.html

Three Pioneer Valley schools are among 14 in the state named Compass Schools, a designation marking them as models of
excellence in education. 
Moseley School in Westfield, Kensington Elementary School in Springfield and Williams Middle School in Longmeadow were
chosen by the Massachusetts Department of Education for the distinction from 242 schools that were chosen to participate in
the Exemplary Schools Program. 
Criteria for the honor included school improvement ratings, exceeding improvement expectations, a school leadership
questionnaire and an on-site review....
.... Moseley, a kindergarten through grade 5 school, was cited for its professional development school model with Westfield
State College and a collaborative problem-solving approach to education....
.... Kensington was cited for whole staff training and extended day support for at-risk students in academic and social areas...
The school was also cited for the use of student work portfolios to establish standards.....
Williams was one of four Massachusetts middle schools to be selected as a Compass School. 
The state cited Williams for "rigorous and structured planning" that always allows room for improvement, and parent
volunteers for enrichment and remedial services to students. The school also recently was chosen as a Mass Insight Vanguard
School for its MCAS performance. 


Springfield Union-News, 5/19: Students show off their MCAS attitude
http://www.masslive.com/holyoke/unionnews/index.ssf?/news/pstories/f519sund.html

.... State Sen. Stanley C. Rosenberg, D-Amherst, got an education yesterday in what it's like to be taking the controversial
high-stakes test. At the school to present students with a Senate award for MCAS excellence, the senator heard from fourth-,
fifth- and sixth-graders who have taken the test or who are taking it this week. 
Some of the older students reported guessing on questions about ancient Mesopotamia, a subject which was put in without
warning and is now being taught. Students also told Rosenberg they were nervous about the test, but most expressed
confidence at being able to overcome their initial fears....
.... Just one town over to the east, parents of half of Leverett's fourth-grade class were keeping their children at home while the
test was being given this week. Their teacher has called for a boycott of the test, and town meetings in Amherst, Leverett,
Shutesbury and Pelham recently passed resolutions opposing the graduation mandate. 
Rosenberg questioned what could be gained by not allowing fourth-graders to take the test. 
"I can't understand how the MCAS has become a monumental insult to education," he said. "They have taken the Iowa and
California tests for years." 
In contrast, Sunderland "is obviously being supportive of this school doing its job," he said. 


Worcester Telegram, 5/18: Tantasqua disrupted by MCAS tests
http://www.telegram.com/news/west/tant.html

MCAS testing at Tantasqua Regional High School is affecting more than the sophomores this week.
The high school's 500 juniors and seniors have been going to the auditorium this week to watch movies because there isn't
enough space for the 300 sophomores to take the 17 hours of MCAS tests. The testing began this week and is scheduled to
end late next week.
Principal James N. White reluctantly took the step because of the lack of space and the many courses that sophomores
take with juniors and seniors. With the exception of English, biology and algebra in the 10th grade, classes are generally open
to students from different grades.
“The fact is I'm losing instructional time with all my students, but I really don't know what else to do,” Mr. White said
yesterday. “I don't like it, but there are no easy solutions here.”....
.... He was also concerned that if the upperclassmen kept taking the classes during the MCAS testing period, the sophomores
would fall behind.Also, there is a need for quiet. Parts of the MCAS test will determine whether the sophomores graduate in
two years.“I owe it to the sophomores to provide that atmosphere for them,” Mr. White said.Busing sophomores to Nichols
College in Dudley to take the test was considered. However, school officials determined that would be a logistical nightmare.
For example, Mr. White said, just to take the testing material to Nichols would require one school bus.....


Boston Herald, 5/18: Summer school rolls drop in Boston; new standards still have 1,000 sweating
http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/local_regional/skul05182001.htm

In the second year of a get-tough promotion policy, Boston Public Schools have sent letters to the parents of 10,444
students telling them to expect to send their children to the city's mandatory summer school program, officials said yesterday. 
The overall number, which could drop when the results of recent Stanford 9 tests are returned in June, marks a drop from
last year, when 10,871 students were notified. 
``These results are in line with a policy that requires kids to hit high standards,'' said Deputy Superintendent Tim Knowles.
``If we lowered standards, we'd lower the number. But we're maintaining a hard line in line with getting students to do
MCAS-level work.''....


Cape Cod Times, 5/18: Nauset schools choses as MCAS test role models
http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/nausetschools18.htm

Nauset Regional High School and Orleans Elementary School will serve as models for the rest of the state, after being
selected for their high MCAS scores and their ability to teach other schools how to improve. 
Nauset Regional High was one of 10 in the state to be called a Vanguard School by MassInsight, a nonprofit organization
that supports standards-based education in the state.....
.... In 1998, Nauset had only 9 percent who qualified for free and reduced lunches. The state average was 24 percent. 
Other schools must also be able to copy the strategy of the winning schools. 
"Those that could explain or articulate why they did well, were scored higher," said Polly Hubbard, project manager for
MassInsight Education. "We felt they were on the cutting edge of school reform."...
.... Contract negotiations three years ago set in motion a longer day and a longer year for Nauset teachers. 
Next year, they will be working more hours and more days than any other district in the state, said Laura Barrett,
spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Teachers Association. 
Concurrently, they were given 1 percent salary raises if the MCAS scores went up four percentage points. They went up at
least that much in every school. 
Starting this fall, teachers will work 189 days a year. The former school year was 183 days. They will be spending 73/4
hours in the school building each day. That's up one hour from the previous schedule.....
.... The Vanguard Award comes with a $1,000 grant, which will help the high school staff act as consultants to other schools,
Hubbard said. 
The Exemplar award means an extra $10,000 for Orleans Elementary. That money will pay for staff to create leadership
teams to help other schools, Briere said....


Boston Globe, 5/17: MCAS test-taker sets history straight
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/137/metro/MCAS_test_taker_sets_history_straight-.shtml
Perhaps the writers of the MCAS test need some remediation. 
The English test asks eighth-graders to answer questions about a letter by Dolley Madison ''to see how the wife of
President John Madison became a hero of the War of 1812.'' 
The problem: Dolley Madison was married to James Madison, the fourth president of the United States, the father of the
Constitution, and a writer of the Federalist Papers. 
The error slipped past Harcourt Educational Measurement of San Antonio, which writes MCAS, and many Massachusetts
teachers who review test items. But it didn't get by Nicholas Holsing, a student at North Reading Middle School, who told his
father.....
.... The state Department of Education, which fielded some calls on the mistake, would not comment because the
Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System exam is ongoing. Officials will decide whether to throw out the question.....



AP wire/Boston.com, 5/17: MCAS test writers slip up on name of fourth president
http://www.boston.com/dailynews/137/region/MCAS_test_writers_slip_up_on_n:.shtml
The error wasn't caught by Harcourt Educational Measurement of San Antonio, which writes the Massachusetts
Comprehensive Assessment System, and numerous teachers who reviewed test items....
.... Department of Education Spokesman Jonathan E. Palumbo said he would not discuss specifics of the question because
some eighth graders haven't taken the test. 
But he did say mistakes have been found in the past, and the questions are thrown out. 
''If it confused the student so much that they couldn't possibly answer the question correctly, we would look further into it
and decide whether that question should count towards the students' score.'' 
Eugene Paslov, president of Harcourt Education Measurement, did not immediately return a phone message left by The
Associated Press Thursday....


Providence Journal, 5/17: Mandatory tests spur ad campaign war
http://www.projo.com/cgi-bin/story.pl/education/05499562.htm

.... The state Department of Education and the Massachusetts Teachers Association are each spending hundreds of thousands
of dollars on television and radio ads in an effort to sway public opinion. 
One 30-second TV ad produced by the teachers union shows students in a classroom taking the test. "Learning used to be
about a lot of things," a narrator says. "Imagination, creativity, discovery and dreams. "But now the state says it's about one
thing. A flawed and unfair test. The one-size-fits-all, high-stakes, do-or-die MCAS test." ....
.... The state Department of Education counters with a $500,000 education reform advertising campaign that focuses mostly on
the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System tests. 
"I've been a teacher in Massachusetts for 30 years and I support the MCAS," one of the department's 30-second TV ads
begins. "It's one of the best ways we have to assess students' strengths and weaknesses so we can give them extra help." ....
.... "We're not necessarily promoting the test, we're trying to promote a better understanding of education reform," [DOE
spokesperson Jonathan] Palumbo said. 
But some state legislators don't see it that way. 
"You're spending money to support a propaganda campaign," state Rep. Patricia A. Haddad, D-Somerset, said. "Doing an
ad campaign to nullify a campaign from the MTA side is not the best use of money." 
Haddad said she feels holding students to a standard is good, but additional criteria should be considered when awarding
diplomas. ....


Springfield Union News, 5/17: Elementary pupils boycott MCAS testing in Leverett
masslive.com/newsindex/hampfrank/index.ssf?/news/pstories/f517boyc.html

Local critics of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System test have raised the ante in their debate with the
state by keeping their fourth-grade children home while classmates take the test. 
Before testing started this week, 11 of Leverett Elementary's 23 fourth-graders brought in notes saying they wouldn't be
participating....
.... "This is a completely parent-organized boycott," said Laurie Millman, parent of a fourth-grader and member of the School
Committee..... "We are speaking to our legislators and they are not listening to us," she said....
... Amherst town meeting recently passed a resolution opposing the graduation mandate. Leverett followed suit a few days
later, and Shutesbury and Pelham town meeting voters have done the same. 
Not everyone in Leverett is calling for a boycott, however. Edward J. Murphy, also a parent of a Leverett student, urged
parents in a recent school newsletter to not join the boycott....
.... A University of Massachusetts instructor of educational measurement, or testing, Murphy said he has no professional ties to
the test. Proponents of the boycott solicited his letter to the newsletter for balance....


Boston Globe, 5/17: School system honored as model
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/137/west/School_system_honored_as_a_model+.shtml
Watertown teachers and students made the grade recently when Mass Insight Education, a nonprofit group working to
improve student achievement in public schools, named it a Vanguard Model..... 
.... The Vanguard Models were selected based on the effectiveness of changes implemented to raise academic standards and
improve MCAS scores.....
.... The awards ceremony is being held June 1 at the Seaport Hotel in Boston. Award recipients will lead workshops detailing
keys to their success. 
The other nine districts are: Arlington; the Boston Public Schools ''Effective Practice'' schools, including the Murphy
Elementary School; the Devens and Albert Lewis Elementary in Everett; Hudson High School; Longmeadow's Williams
Middle School; Lowell Middlesex Academy Charter School; Nauset Regional High School; Sunderland Elementary School;
and Woburn's Goodyear, Reeves, and Altavesta elementary schools. 


Springfield Union News, 5/16: School safety first, tests last, parents say
http://www.masslive.com/newsindex/springfield/index.ssf?/news/pstories/ae517edt.html

Americans believe that school safety and teacher quality are more important than standardized tests as methods to improve
student achievement, according to a public opinion poll released yesterday. 
David Haselkorn, president of Recruiting New Teachers Inc., released the poll results yesterday during a press conference
held inside the U.S. Capitol. He was flanked by U.S. Sens. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., and Jim Jeffords, R-Vt., the
chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education and Labor. 
The poll, conducted by Lou Harris, showed that 90 percent of the respondents said that school safety was the most
important measure to improve student achievement. Eighty-nine percent agreed that quality teaching was next in importance.
Parental involvement was ranked the third most important factor by 87 percent of the respondents and 84 percent of
Americans said that the quality of the principal was next. 
Americans ranked promoting students based on standardized testing as the least important of 13 measures with only 28
percent agreeing that it was the way to improve student performance....
.... Springfield School Committee member Jose F. Tosado said he is not surprised about the findings in the study. He said he
believes reducing class size would go farther than forcing students to pass certain tests. 
"I don't think standardized testing is a panacea for improving our schools," Tosado said....
[SEE the full report online at: www.recruitingteachers.org.]


Boston Herald, 5/16: MCAS opponent receives support
http://www.masslive.com/newsindex/metroeast/index.ssf?/news/pstories/hf16alfi.html

State Sen. Stanley C. Rosenberg, D-Amherst, is blasting the state Department of Education's insistence that a Northampton
conference drop MCAS critic Alfie Kohn from its agenda. 
"This is basically an act of censorship and shutting someone down," said Rosenberg, who supports MCAS. "People need to
be able to speak their minds." ....
.... "I believe that the MCAS is an imperfect tool at this time and that the criticism of it by its opponents has informed and
motivated the department and the board in its recent efforts to improve MCAS," Rosenberg stated in his letter [to James
Peyser, chairman of the Board of Education]. He urged Peyser to take immediate action to reaffirm his commitment to an open
and fair debate about the future of MCAS. 
Rosenberg has been criticized himself by Amherst school officials for not opposing the MCAS. Yesterday he said the test
is "definitely flawed." .....


Boston Globe, 5/16: 300 on Common protest MCAS
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/136/metro/300_on_Common_protest_MCAS-.shtml
About 300 people rallied on Boston Common yesterday against the MCAS test, calling for an end to the exam's use as a
graduation requirement. 
Students, teachers, and parents stood underneath gray skies toting signs such as ''Raise the standard, not barriers'' and
''Abolish the test penalty.'' ....
... Speakers, including politicians and community leaders, said it is unfair to base students' graduation on one test, although they
get up to five chances to take it. Also, students in some urban districts lack the materials students in suburbs have, they said.
And in some cases, state officials keep changing the curriculum frameworks that MCAS measures....
.... Parents at yesterday's rally also announced the formation of the Committee of 100 Massachusetts Parents, a new group
urging a boycott of MCAS until the test is replaced with multiple measures. 
About 500,000 students in grades 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 10 will take one or more parts of the test for the next two weeks.



Boston Herald, 5/16: Debate on MCAS testing rages over the Common
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/local_regional/mcas05162001.htm

On the second day of the May testing regimen, dozens of students recited anti-MCAS poetry, belted out anti-MCAS raps
and performed anti-MCAS skits in a protest on Boston Common that drew 250 people.
At the same time, high above their heads, a small plane rented by the group Business for Better Schools, circled the
Common towing a banner reading, ``Students win with MCAS.'' ....
.... William S. Edgerly of Business for Better Schools said the plane has been flying over urban high schools in the Boston area
to get a positive message to students. ``We want to encourage the students to feel they can do well,'' said Edgerly. 


Springfield Union News, 5/15: MCAS presents high hurdle for limited English proficient students
http://www.masslive.com/springfield/unionnews/index.ssf?/news/pstories/bilintue.html

... [Pointing] to an excerpt from Rachel Carson's "The Sea Around Us." "Autumn comes to the sea with a fresh blaze of
phosphorescence . . .," ... an ESL teacher at Central High School in Springfield, tapped her index finger on the first word.
"Sometimes they know 'fall.' They may not know 'autumn,'" she said. "Maybe you start reading something and you don't
understand the first word." 
Limited-English-proficient students who get tripped up early on must make do. Under the state's so-called competency
determination, all students must pass the sophomore-level Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System tests to receive
a diploma. 
"It seems so unfair," [she] said. "This is supposed to be the land of opportunity." ....
.... James A. Peyser, chairman of the state Board of Education, which sets policies for K-12 public schools, backs the rule.
"For many, I'm sure it's arduous. But it's fair," he said. "A student who gets a high school diploma ought to know, and
employers ought to know, that that student is literate in English." ....
.... Generally, limited-English-proficient students are not required to take the tests if they have been in a U.S. school for less
than three years. But if they are literate in Spanish, they take translated MCAS tests even if they have not surpassed the
three-year mark. 
When it comes to the high-stakes sophomore-level test, students with limited English proficiency, like their peers, must pass
both the English language arts and the math exams. 
But Spanish-speaking 10th graders still eligible to take the translated MCAS exams can take the math test in their native
language and fulfill half the graduation mandate, according to the state Department of Education. However, they must eventually
pass the regular English language arts exam. 
Statewide last year, there were 2,067 sophomores classified as having limited English proficiency, according to the education
department. Of this group, 22 percent took the English MCAS test and 41 percent took the math. Seventy-five percent failed
in English and 77 percent failed in math....
.... Amherst resident Rosalie Pedalino Porter, a member of the Board of Education's bilingual education advisory council, said
the passing level of the MCAS exam - just one point above failing - probably equates to about a C-minus....
.... An educational consultant for the Washington, D.C.-based Institute for Research in English Acquisition and Development,
Porter acknowledged that the task is more difficult for students learning English at the high school level. Older students require
much more help - perhaps even an extra year of schooling, she said.....
.... But Roger L. Rice, executive director of the Somerville-based Multicultural Education, Training and Advocacy Inc., said
Massachusetts may eventually face lawsuits over it. 
Students should be expected to learn English, and schools should be expected to do a good job of teaching the language, he
said. "What's not fair is to presume a kid who's been here one year . . . is in the same position as a kid who was born of
English-speaking parents who has lived in Massachusetts her whole life," he said. 
The exam was designed as a rigorous test to gauge critical thinking skills. Some educators say the hurdles can be virtually
insurmountable for students who can't grasp subtle nuances in a poem, or may lack the vocabulary to handle a math problem
that talks about "coplanar, noncollinear points." 
Jazmin Negron, a sophomore enrolled in an ESL class at Holyoke High School, has been in the school system five years
and can converse easily enough in English. 
But academic questions still stump her, she said. She had difficulty understanding the question on the one-day MCAS essay
test last month. "I tried to write something," she said. "I tried my best."....
.... But Roger L. Rice, executive director of the Somerville-based Multicultural Education, Training and Advocacy Inc., said
Massachusetts may eventually face lawsuits over it. 
Students should be expected to learn English, and schools should be expected to do a good job of teaching the language, he
said. "What's not fair is to presume a kid who's been here one year . . . is in the same position as a kid who was born of
English-speaking parents who has lived in Massachusetts her whole life," he said. 
The exam was designed as a rigorous test to gauge critical thinking skills. Some educators say the hurdles can be virtually
insurmountable for students who can't grasp subtle nuances in a poem, or may lack the vocabulary to handle a math problem
that talks about "coplanar, noncollinear points." 
Jazmin Negron, a sophomore enrolled in an ESL class at Holyoke High School, has been in the school system five years
and can converse easily enough in English. 
But academic questions still stump her, she said. She had difficulty understanding the question on the one-day MCAS essay
test last month. "I tried to write something," she said. "I tried my best." 
But Roger L. Rice, executive director of the Somerville-based Multicultural Education, Training and Advocacy Inc., said
Massachusetts may eventually face lawsuits over it. 
Students should be expected to learn English, and schools should be expected to do a good job of teaching the language, he
said. "What's not fair is to presume a kid who's been here one year . . . is in the same position as a kid who was born of
English-speaking parents who has lived in Massachusetts her whole life," he said. 
The exam was designed as a rigorous test to gauge critical thinking skills. Some educators say the hurdles can be virtually
insurmountable for students who can't grasp subtle nuances in a poem, or may lack the vocabulary to handle a math problem
that talks about "coplanar, noncollinear points." 
Jazmin Negron, a sophomore enrolled in an ESL class at Holyoke High School, has been in the school system five years and
can converse easily enough in English. 
But academic questions still stump her, she said. She had difficulty understanding the question on the one-day MCAS essay
test last month. "I tried to write something," she said. "I tried my best." 
Mary Anne O'Connor, Negron's ESL teacher, said that while students try in class, many simply do not get the English
practice they need. The Holyoke school district, with a 26-percent bilingual education enrollment, has a 70-percent Hispanic
population. 
"Most of them don't use (English) at home," O'Connor said. "They don't use it on the street with their friends. They only use
it in school." 
In Springfield, ...students work through old MCAS English exams. They read the poems and book excerpts, answer
multiple-choice questions and work on essay writing. 
Sophomore Valeed Soundare, who came to the United States from Thailand as an eighth-grader, is determined to pass the
tests being given this week and next. 
But he said he often has to read a question over and over to get past his confusion. "Writing is kind of hard - sometimes
spelling, (if it's) a deep word," he said.....