Massachusetts Is Making Its High School Diplomas Meaningless
On Election Day, Massachusetts voters will have a chance to get rid of the state’s high school exit exam, which involves standards-based tests in math, sciences and English. The ballot measure is known as Question 2, and voting yes “would eliminate the requirement that students pass the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System in order to graduate high school but still require students to complete coursework that meets state standards.”
Massachusetts is one of fewer than 10 states that still have exit exam requirements. It is also consistently ranked among the best states for K-12 public education — as are some of the other states with exit exams, like New York and Virginia. The MCAS is not a killer exam. As my newsroom colleague Troy Closson pointed out, “More than 90 percent of sophomores pass the test” on their first try. Furthermore, “Failing students can retake the exams several times or lodge an appeal.”
A summary of the arguments for and against Question 2 from the nonpartisan Center for State Policy Analysis at Tufts University states that “96 percent manage to eventually pass or otherwise prove their competency via one of the state’s alternate paths.”
