News Archive
MCAS in the News (Feb 22 - March 1, 2003)
Stories Include:
- A special report includes a series of in-depth profiles of four South
Shore students who have taken MCAS through four rounds -- and what happens
when they learn the results;
- School committees, parents, and students continue to resist the MCAS
graduation requirement:
Milford will give diplomas to students with disabilities;
Arlington school committee members consider granting diplomas to all
graduating seniors;
Boston parents and students rally for a graduation requirement delay at
the State House:
- Along with federal testing-for-accountability policies, MCAS pressures force
elimination of recess in Waltham;
MCAS in the News (February 21, 2003)
Stories Include:
- Randolph, Quincy, Southeast Regional Voc, and Whitman-Hanson students and
South Shore educators describe anxiety and diminishing motivation, and worries
about the life-altering effects of flunking MCAS as they wait for retest
results, due in early March;
- Claiming irreperable harm, student plaintiffs in the MCAS lawsuit file for a
court injunction against use of the MCAS to deny diplomas to the Class of
2003; Students and parents rally at the State House in Boston for a graduation
requirement delay;
- In Great Barrington, the Berkshire Hill School Committee votes to give
diplomas to all seniors who've met their graduation requirements;
MCAS in the News (February 15, 2003)
Stories include:
- Hundreds of community members and parents lobby
legislators for an end to the MCAS graduation requirement at MCAS Forum
Day, sponsored by the Alliance for High Standards, Not
High Stakes.
- Brookline High School faculty vote against the
MCAS graduation requirement, sending a message to the town's school
committee as members consider their own resolution to award diplomas.
- School committee candidates in Wellesley voice
opinions on the harm of MCAS and its effect on time for
learning in Wellesley;
MCAS in the News (January 9,
2003)
Stories include:
- North of Boston superintendents voice concerns
that in a time of severe budget cuts, including cuts in funds to reimburse
districts' payment to charter schools, education reform
becomes little more than smoke and mirrors;
- In Easthampton, education leaders express
concerns that high stakes testing is linked to dropouts, echoing recent research
that finds few achievement benefits and higher dropout
rates in states with high stakes testing;
- On the north shore, a
principal resigns following findings of MCAS improprieties;
- Students refile their MCAS lawsuit in Massachusetts superior court in Boston;
MCAS in the News (12/18-26/02)
Stories include:
- Respected Landmark School that sends many
students with disabilities on to post-secondary education
will give diplomas to students who have not passed MCAS;
- At the same time, more private colleges say
they're willing to accept local diplomas;
- And neglected stories from last week: There's a change in the composition of plaintiffs in the MCAS lawsuit and an investigation into MCAS cheating, a negative
consequence that researchers have documented in other states with high-stakes
testing.
MCAS in the News (12/8 - 12/02)
MCAS in the News (November 26, 2002)
MCAS in the News (November 16, 2002)
MCAS in the News (October 24 - 31, 2002)
MCAS in the News (October 20 -24, 2002)
MCAS in the News (October 6-11, 2002)
Massachusetts Sued Over MCAS
from
Education Week Oct.2, 2002
MCAS rules frustrate
some parents
Test-driven accountability is more likely to
produce failure than improvement, says Walt Haney in Ensuring Failure, and
Massachusetts' MCAS exam is a prime example. (July 2002)
MCAS in the news (January 1 - January 11, 2002)
MCAS in the news (December 2001)
CIVICS, FRONT AND CENTER
Boston Globe "Chalkboard" Column
Exit exams can catch kids in dropout crunch
MCAS in the news (6/17 - 7/1)
MCAS in the news (6/2 - 6/16)
MCAS in the news (5/25 -
6/2)
MCAS in the news (5/20 -
5/25)
MCAS in the news (5/15 - 5/19)
MCAS in the News May 5th to May 16th
