MCAS testing was instituted 30 years ago in a grand education reform agreement between Massachusetts’ governor and Senate leader and the teachers’ union: Huge increased funding for public education in exchange for the ability to measure and account for results via statewide testing tied to graduation requirements. This education reform agreement has paid off, with Massachusetts ranking at or near the top of all states; also the top individual state when compared with top-ranked countries globally. The union has always detested the requirement for statewide graduation standards tied to measurable results. But the grand education reform bargain had no expiration date. Yet, the current union-sponsored Question 2 to end MCAS is a multimillion dollar misleading campaign to renege on that agreement. Especially now, when MCAS results have revealed the damage done to our children by the extended union-driven pandemic-related school closures, MCAS results are also showing the slow recovery from those learning losses. We need MCAS more than ever. Please vote no on Question 2.
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