Editorial: Improvements in MCAS scores raise pedagogical questions

Improvements in MCAS scores raise pedagogical questions

By Erin McNultyClass of 2007

The ever controversial MCAS tests are the object of debate yet again. The results of the most recent exam, taken by the class of 2008, have sparked new changes to be considered and implemented. The widespread increases in scores for last year’s tenth graders as compared to previous years is in many cases quite significant, but the reasons and consequences of it are less clear. Does it reflect an improvement in state education or just the fact that curriculums now cater to the MCAS format? Are certain towns or regions outstripping others? Should the exam be made harder? Among those schools showing the most drastic improvements were some of the poorest communities in the state. These increases seem to point to the MCAS as being a positive incentive for schools to improve their educational quality. Brockton, Lowell, and Boston high schools all breached the 50% mark in terms of students who score proficient or advanced. These schools cite tutoring, creating new focused classes, enlisting parents and police to improve attendance, and transforming large ineffective schools into smaller academies as in Dorchester. On the other hand, a fair number of towns, mostly suburbs and including Walpole, deviated only slightly from the year before, showing that there is eventually only so much improvement that a school can accomplish. The poor, diverse, and urban regions of Massachusetts do receive large amounts of state aid to try to boost MCAS scores and overall educational quality. Low performing schools are being ardently targeted to receive quick state intervention in an attempt to boost MCAS scores to match those of the rest of the state within a short time frame. Statewide, improvements may be attributed to steps being taken starting in middle school to prepare students for the MCAS. Some towns have implemented special curriculums for students who do poorly on the exam in eighth grade in an attempt to prepare them for the tenth grade test. Even regular high school English and math classes often specifically prepare the students for the MCAS through practice tests and teaching with similar formats as what is on the MCAS. The state Board of Education voted in October to raise the minimum score required to pass the exam, citing the fact that towns are accepting minimum scores and not pushing for improvement. But the new passing score of 240 instead of 220, if applied to the 2006 results, will most severely affect African American and Hispanic students. The percentage of black students in Massachusetts who qualify as passing the MCAS would drop from 68% to 32%, and from 61% to 27% for Hispanics. The new cutoff will be implemented starting with the class of 2010, who will take the MCAS next year as sophomores. Urban area school officials worry that this increasingly daunting graduation requirement will encourage already high dropout rates. These changes may simply be too much too soon, canceling out the improvements made over the past few years. The raise also seems to unfairly target minorities and urban areas. The projected effects of increased dropouts, more intensive preparation, and greater expectations will affect students statewide.