By Bob Katzen

The Education Committee accepted only written testimony on a bill that would suspend the requirement that a student take the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) test as a graduation requirement for the school year, beginning in the fall of 2020 through the school year ending in 2024.

“Returning to learning in the fall will require complex planning, safety precautions, and possibly dramatic changes to pedagogy and curricula,” said the bill’s sponsor Sen. Jo Comerford (D-Northampton). “As Massachusetts students and teachers do the tireless work of learning recovery and rebuilding community engagement and trust, pressure-filled, high-stakes testing should be the very last thing on their minds. The MCAS test was deeply flawed prior to the onset of the pandemic. COVID-19 has simply increased the urgency around banning its high-stakes nature while ushering in a process that will yield a much better assessment for the commonwealth.”