The state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education this week took a step back from educational excellence by approving "emergency rules" that will permit high school students to appeal for relief from the MCAS science requirement after just one failure.
The change undermines a key goal of the state's education reform effort: to ensure all high school graduates have achieved at least minimal competence in science.
An appeals process exists for English or math requirements. However, students are eligible to appeal only after failing those portions of the MCAS tests three times -- a policy that, properly, gives students an incentive to improve their skills.
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