MCAS in the news (5/25 - 6/2)

News stories this week include some on students' perspectives on taking MCAS:


Attleboro Sun Chronicle, 6/1: MCAS 'like a volcano'
http://www.sunchronicle.com/display/inn_city/city7.txt

Adults often use terms such as `` high stakes,'' and `` standards based'' to describe the state assessments tests known as
MCAS. Sometimes they even use terms like `` unfair'' and `` discriminatory.'' 
But at Patrice Braza's fourth-grade class at Fine Elementary School, the students are far more descriptive in writing about
the two-week long series of tests. 
Braza assigned her 21 students to write five descriptions of the tests using similes, which are comparisons using the words
like or as. 
The results astonished her. Not only were the students highly descriptive and original, but their writings brought out some of
the anguish the students felt about the tests. 
`` MCAS was as difficult as making a wedding cake because there are so many layers,'' wrote Valerie Ruane. 
`` MCAS was as scary as walking around a living room on your hands because you don't know what to expect,'' Nate
Martin wrote. 
`` MCAS was like a volcano because of all the pressure on you,'' wrote Daniel Gelinas. 
`` MCAS was as confusing as putting a computer together without directions because they're tricky,'' wrote Brianne
Valequett. 
Braza said the students are only 10, but they are already feeling the pressure from the tests, formally known as the
Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System. 
They know a lot of emphasis is being placed on the tests by adults. 
Many of her pupils have older brothers and sisters who had to pass the 10th-grade test this year to qualify for
graduation.....
.... The children also displayed a unique view of the tests and expressed them in terms that relate to their everyday lives. 
`` MCAS was as annoying as a fly buzzing around my head because we did it for two weeks and it got on my nerves,'' Jake
Mooney. 
`` The MCAS was like talking to my brother because sometimes it's easy to understand but sometimes it's confusing
because he's so smart,'' wrote Julie Hobin. 
`` MCAS was as tricky as a ghost because the people who make the MCAS try to trick us,'' wrote Mark Millett. 
But not all the students sound anguished over the tests. Some describe them as easy and interesting. 
`` MCAS were as interesting as seeing the world because the MCAS has a ton of ideas from the past and how things were
invented,'' wrote Bret Salisbury. 
`` MCAS was like going to Chuckie Cheese because it was fun,'' wrote Kristina Sostre. 


Arlington Advocate, 5/31: First AHS student face 'high stakes' standardized tests
http://www.townonline.com/northwest/arlington/15347899.htm

..... Students just finished taking this year’s exam last Friday, and while the state says each section can be finished in 45
minutes, Assistant Principal Barbara Gorman said students often took a great deal longer to finish the test, some not leaving the
classroom until 3:30 or 4 p.m.....
.... AHS Principal Charles McCarthy said the high school offered students 75 minutes to complete each section, more than the
45 minutes the state recommended. When school ended, the students who needed more time were brought into one room to
finish the day’s testing.
" In several cases, we gave up to three hours (for the English exam), " said McCarthy....
.... During a short assembly before the test, McCarthy told the students to " do your best. And the best way they can do their
very best is to relax. " 
The principal said he also told the approximately 30 proctors overseeing the test to keep the mood light. " We were saying that
all along, that we want the proctors to be helpful as possible, to decrease the stress not increase it, " McCarthy said....
[S]tudents also felt a little uncomfortable with the quality of the exam. All three [interviewed] said they noted several spelling
errors. [Sophomore Mike] Haviland said he faced a dilemma when a multiple-choice question about a poem he had read had
two correct answers, he felt.
" I asked the proctor, and he said, ‘don’t worry about which one is right. Just try to get inside (the test maker’s) heads,’ "
he said. ....


Hampshire Daily Gazette, 5/30: Sweet treat follows MCAS
http://www.gazettenet.com/05302001/schools/2544.htm

The 138 10th-grade students were treated to the party as a reward for trying hard and doing a great job on the tests,
Principal Debbie Carter said. 
"The MCAS are a lot of work and have been very stressful on these students. They worked really hard and spent above
and beyond the amount of time projected by the state on the tests," she said. "They deserve this reward for a job well done." 
Many students were relieved as they completed the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System tests Friday and
said they were glad they didn't have to think about them again until November, when the tests scores will be revealed. 
Sophomore Jessy Nichols said that portions of the test were very difficult and that she couldn't even complete them, so she
wasn't looking forward to finding out her scores. 
"The history section was wicked hard, and so was the math portion. I couldn't even do some of the history, so I'm sure I
failed it," Nichols said. "During the essay section I wrote the MCAS people a letter about how pointless I think this is rather
than doing the work, because I couldn't answer the questions." 
Kristy Downer, a sophomore, said that although some of the test wasn't too hard, she was glad it was over, because it was
a lot of work and took up a lot of time. 
"I just don't think it's fair that they base the test on an average and people who take lower-level classes can't expect to pass
it," she said. "I know that they found two mistakes on the math portion, but the MCAS people said it was OK. How can it be
OK if we don't graduate for failing?" .....


New Bedford Standard-Times, 5/29: Students glad MCAS is over
http://www.s-t.com/daily/05-01/05-29-01/a01lo002.htm

.... Most of the six students that The Standard-Times has been following for the past year found the test both harder and easier
than expected in different areas.
.... Old Rochester Regional High School sophomore Maureen Best isn't the type of student to completely forget something she
learned earlier in the year. An honor roll student who wants to pursue a college course of study in the sciences, Maureen says
she did her best to keep tabs on the many events surveyed in her world history class this year. 
When the MCAS asked her questions about 17th century religions, however, she said she had never seen the information
before. 
She did fine and said she certainly expects to pass the test, but she doesn't like the fact that she was tested on material she
had never learned. 
The same holds true for mathematics. Maureen says she tackled some types of geometry questions for the first time while
taking the test. Her curriculum, she said, would get to those problems before the end of this year or possibly at the beginning of
next year. 
"I don't see how they can test the entire state on the same questions when they don't know what everyone is learning," she
said. "We spent an entire year preparing for MCAS and there were still things on there I hadn't seen." ....
*****
Jesus Rivera sat in the New Bedford High School cafeteria with about six other special-needs students to take the MCAS
test over four mornings these past two weeks. 
He said he wasn't nervous, but he was frustrated by many of the questions on the English, math and history tests. 
"I didn't understand some of the questions," said the 16-year-old sophomore. 
During the English test, Mr. Rivera said that proctors read various stories and then asked the students to answer the
questions about each passage. Proctors also helped during the math test by reading test questions to students. But even with
this help that is allowed by the state Department of Education for special-needs students, Mr. Rivera said he found the test too
difficult. 
His coping strategy was to "rush right through it." 
"It took me 15 to 20 minutes and the rest of the two hours I just fooled around," said the lanky boy....
.... Although he expresses a carefree attitude toward the test, Mr. Rivera's parents, Carmen and Alberto, are openly concerned
that their son's results on the MCAS could stand in the way of him getting a diploma. 
******
"I just hope I really do good," said the daughter of Haitian immigrants. "I just want to know." Annie [Borsiquot, New
Bedford High student] plans to attend Boston College or Northeastern University after she graduates in 2003. She wants to
major in psychology or journalism. 
She plans to take journalism and Advanced Placement English classes in her high school senior year to help her decide the
career she really wants. 
Annie believes she did well on the English MCAS. 
"They gave you stories, you had to read the stories, they asked you the main point and asked questions based on the story
you just read," she said. "One that was hard for me was a William Shakespeare sonnet. That didn't make sense to me." 
Annie said she used the two hours allowed to answer the open-ended questions. She wrote a page of text for some
answers. 
Then on the following day, she took the math portion. "It was basic math; it wasn't bad, I think I did OK on that," she
said. Annie said the test had algebra, probability and problems. It also had some open questions. "Math was pretty easy," she
said. 
Not so for the history portion. Annie is glad it doesn't count toward graduation..... 

*****
.... [Andrew Parker] He's not worried about passing the English and math tests, but he still doesn't support using the test as a
requirement for a high school diploma. 
Nothing on the math and English tests caught him by surprise, he said. He felt prepared for most of the algebra and
geometry problems. 
"While I was taking it, most of the kids were saying they thought it was easier than they expected," said Andrew. The one
area he found difficult on the math test was completing the essay questions to explain how he solved various problems. 
"I think we could do more essays in math class," he said. He also found the history test difficult at times. "Some of the stuff I
didn't know because it was world history," he said. He took world history the first semester his freshman year and his memory
of some this was too faint to recall for the test....

*****
Bilingual education students took some portions of the MCAS later than their English-speaking counterparts, but for
sophomore Jorge Arroyo, the extra time he had to prepare wasn't much help. 
"I knew some of the answers, but there were so many that I had to leave blank because I just didn't know," said Jorge,
who came to the United States from Puerto Rico less than a year ago. "The math was the worst part for me, because there
were these questions where they asked you to explain in words how you got your answer. I never had to do that before." 
Jorge, a sophomore at New Bedford High School, said that while he was able to get through most of the algebra
questions, there were geometric problems he hasn't yet learned how to solve. 
"The history and social science part was much easier than the math, but I still don't know how much better I did," he said. 
While Jorge is still unsure about his post-high school plans, he said he is almost certain the MCAS will have a negative
impact on his future. 
For Dominican Republic native Biany Brito, who also took the exam alongside Jorge, the test may be less of an obstacle. 
"I'm not sure if I passed the test, but I was able to answer most questions, and I didn't find it as hard as I thought it would
be," she said. "For me, the math was the hardest because there was some stuff that we are just beginning to take now, like the
geometry." 
Biany plans to go to college for business administration, and while she thinks she has a good chance of receiving passing
scores in the MCAS exam, she said that failing it would complicate her chances to pursue a college education. 
******
Describing the English MCAS, Shawneen [Shidell, Greater New Bedford Regional Voc-Tech student] said she read a
Shakespearean sonnet about love. After answering questions about metaphor and simile and other aspects of the sonnet, the
exam asked students to write a title for the sonnet and explain the title. 
"I could have written whatever title as long as I supported it in my essay," she said. 
Although confident about the English test, Shawneen is less sure of the math MCAS. 
"The first part of the math test was abstract and took math from a different angle," she said, describing this section as
confusing and filled with riddle-like word problems she had never encountered in her classes. 
She felt more confident about the second part that tested her on algebra and geometry. "If my scores come back and they
weren't too great, I wouldn't be surprised." ....


CNN, 5/25: Critics fear state testing will take its toll
http://fyi.cnn.com/2001/fyi/teachers.ednews/05/25/mass.testing/index.html

When the sun's in just the right corner of the sky, Boston's Fenway High School is literally in the shadow of that jewel of
baseball fields, Fenway Park -- venerable domain of the Red Sox. And in this 
neighborhood, home runs aren't just confined to baseball games. This year, as many as 90 percent of Fenway High's graduating
class is expected to get into college -- a grand slam for a school of mostly inner-city kids. 
Nevertheless, Larry Myatt, Fenway's principal and longtime driving force, sees a disaster looming for his 300 or so
students. Despite the high rate of college admissions, a large number of Fenway seniors failed the Massachusetts state
proficiency exam, known as the MCAS, when they took it in the 10th grade.....
.... When the MCAS begins to count, Myatt said dozens of his best students may be admitted to college but unable to attend
because they didn't pass the state exam and receive a high school diploma. 
Huggins La Fond is fortunate to be graduating this year. The son of Haitian immigrants, he grew up in one of Boston's
toughest neighborhoods. 
Despite failing the MCAS, Huggins La Fond was accepted to five colleges. He has been a student standout at Fenway
High. Five colleges accepted him, with Franklin Pierce College in New Hampshire offering him a full scholarship. But La Fond
failed the MCAS. And though it won't prevent his graduating, La Fond finds his results on the test demoralizing. "You question
what you're really capable of doing," he said.....
...."I find it very hard to believe kids are failing MCAS and getting into college," said David Driscoll, state Department of
Education commissioner. "Our statistics show the kids who fail MCAS are failing otherwise." 
From the educational frontlines, however, Myatt said he sees a different story. Students are getting into good colleges and
failing the MCAS, he said....


Boston Globe, 5/27: MCAS foes find new test flaws; students detect elementary errors
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/147/metro/MCAS_foes_find_new_flaw_in_tests-.shtml
..... First there was the eighth-grade English test that referred to James Madison - fourth president of the United States - as
''John'' Madison. Then, several 10th-graders around the state discovered a flaw in a math question on shapes that can be
constructed from equilateral triangles. 
And an error on the fourth-grade exam also escaped proofreaders: A chart with the sunrise times for different dates was
mislabeled ''city'' and ''population'' instead of ''day'' and ''time.'' 
''With all the pressure they're putting on kids to do well, the fact that they don't spend enough time to make sure everything
is perfectly clear is kind of disappointing,'' said Cathy Doucette, a teacher at the Roger Clap Elementary School in Dorchester.
One of Doucette's students, Kevin Pereira, pointed out the mistake on the fourth-grade exam.....
.... Education Commissioner David P. Driscoll said he is ''not too darn thrilled with `John' Madison,'' but he cast the 10th-grade
geometry mistake in a positive light, calling it ''a wonderful opportunity to show how creative kids are.'' Students were able to
make more shapes using the two triangles than the test's authors had allowed for.....
.... But even a handful of mistakes may make a difference, says Walter Haney, an education researcher at Boston College's
Center for the Study of Testing, Evaluation and Education Policy. 
''If they take the questions out of the mix, they will have a lower number of questions, and the fewer questions you have
contributing to a test score, the less reliable the results will be,'' said Haney, who opposes using MCAS as a graduation
requirement. The class of 2003 is the first that will have to pass the English and math portions of the Massachusetts
Comprehensive Assessment System exam to get a diploma. 
Nellhaus says the state assumes that it will have to scrap a few questions on each test, so it includes enough of them to
compensate. But Haney said such errors as the ones discovered in the past few days may be magnified when combined with
the flaws that are inherent in any standardized test. 
''The inevitable measurement errors, faulty questions, and possible scoring errors all show why we should not be making
decisions based on MCAS scores in isolation,'' he said.....


Cambridge Chronicle, 5/25: Cambridge is ground zero for MCAS dissent
http://www.townonline.com/tol/news/education/15073109.htm

.... Of the estimated 200 10th-graders who boycotted the test statewide last spring, 150 of them lived in Cambridge — almost
one third of last year’s entire sophomore class at Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School. And while significant numbers of
students in other communities have boycotted MCAS, those refusing to take the exam in Cambridge are supported by school
administrators, teachers and parents in a manner that is unseen anywhere else in the state, say experts.....
..... The result is a tense relationship between Cambridge school officials and their counterparts at the state level. While the
Department of Education is attempting to rally school districts throughout the state to raise MCAS scores, Palumbo said the
state cannot force Cambridge school officials to 
get on the same page. ....
.... Students in other communities, particularly in Brookline, Arlington, Newton and Great Barrington, have refused to take the
exams. But while many school administrators have suspended these students or reflected the missed test in their school grades,
Cambridge Schools Superintendent Bobbie 
D’Alessandro has refused to create reprisals for faculty or families. Instead, students boycotting the exam have been given
alternative programming on test day.....