Editor’s note: Wellesley Middle School Social Studies students as part of a Civics Action Projects has this week taken over The Swellesley Report‘s letters-to-the-editor page. The students are well-versed in their topics, have carefully researched all angles, and are ready to present their opinions to the community. Thank you to the WMS Social Studies teachers for organizing this community-based project.
To the editor:
We should remove MCAS as a diploma requirement in Massachusetts public schools. It is biased against disabled students, denying them their diplomas, and by extension, their future. As Massachusetts citizens we have a moral responsibility to support all of our students, yet sadly we are failing at this task.
For context, high-stakes tests, like MCAS, are tests that influence significant decisions about students and schools they attend. In Massachusetts, graduation is the largest decision MCAS affects, results are also often used to grant merit-based scholarships.
First, high-stakes tests are rarely seen in non-academic settings and don’t correlate with a student’s intelligence. “Data shows that students with disabilities fail large-scale tests at higher rates than other students,” (Great Schools 2023). Many neurodivergent or disabled students show competency in different ways, finding tests difficult. Massachusetts’ requirement of passing MCAS to graduate means disabled students fail despite knowledge of the curriculum.
Second, removing high-stakes testing for graduation will increase graduation rates for disabled students. 90% of the general student population graduates high school, but only 78% of students with special needs do. This gap is unacceptable and a clear failing of both our students and the equal education requirements established by the ADA. Moreover, the fact that only eight states still use standardized testing for this purpose shows just how outdated it is. How can Massachusetts claim to be a progressive state if we are still this behind the times?
By removing MCAS we would improve the conditions of disabled students. When determining if students should receive a diploma on a wider range of assignments, disabled students are able to better demonstrate their abilities. Furthermore, reducing the focus on high-stakes testing would give disabled students more opportunities to express their knowledge and potential in school. Moreover, the Massachusetts workforce would increase and a greater number of students could enroll in higher education.
As previously mentioned, scholarships to public universities are awarded using MCAS results. Disabled students tend to do poorly on these types of tests, lowering their chances of earning a scholarship. If MCAS stops being used for this, scholarships will be better awarded to students. Disabled kids deserve to go to college as much as any other student, yet they are currently being denied this opportunity.
Clearly, MCAS is not fair to students with disabilities. It increases dropout rates, lowers graduation rates, and denies disabled students the wonderful future they deserve. So please, write a letter urging our representatives to remove MCAS. Until this issue is solved Massachusetts cannot claim to be an inclusive state.
Devin Kiernan
Cooper Hart
Wellesley Middle School students
