Around New England

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu Says She’s Undecided On MCAS Standardized Tests Ballot Question

August 6, 2024

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu says she’s not sure whether she’ll support or oppose a ballot question seeking to end a requirement that students pass the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System test in order to graduate from high school.

“I have not yet sat down all the way and made sure to feel as deeply educated on the particular consequences of the ballot language yet, so that is something that is on my list to make sure that I do very soon,” Wu said during an interview on GBH News’s “Boston Public Radio on Tuesday, August 6, according to State House News Service.” “I do have some discomfort with the idea of the be-all, end-all being one particular test that, as you heard, doesn’t serve anyone. But also, there’s a need for making sure there are standards in place that continue to hold all of us accountable for the delivery of education to our young people.”

The state’s largest teachers union, the Massachusetts Teachers Association, is pushing the referendum, which is on the November 2024 general election ballot in Massachusetts.

MCAS, as the series of tests is widely known, was implemented in the wake of the Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993 as a way to make sure that public schools in the state were meeting certain standards.

Critics of MCAS say it puts too much pressure on students and forces teachers to the teach to the test instead of imparting knowledge more broadly. Some also criticize the content of the tests.

Supporters say that without MCAS the worth of a high school diploma would be suspect and there would be no easy way to tell if students are learning.

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