| * S.361 An Act establishing a special commission to re-imagine school assessment and accountability (Lewis). Creates a commission composed of diverse stakeholders to review and propose changes to the Commonwealth’s current assessment and accountability system. It will examine the requirements of the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, as well as potential waivers; the range of alternative assessment and accountability systems in place or being considered across the country; and research data on what parents, K-12 educators, higher education and business leaders want students to know and be able to do upon high school graduation. * S.293/H.612, An Act expanding opportunities to demonstrate academic achievement (Comerford/Hawkins). This bill will eliminate the high-stakes nature of MCAS by lifting the graduation requirement. It also changes the school evaluation process by de-emphasizing the MCAS test, expanding locally determined input, and factoring in the sufficiency of state and local funding. It creates a grant program that supports local school district planning for creative, locally determined school goal setting, evaluation and assessment. Finally, the bill provides support to MCIEA to administer the grant program and develop a report based on this program recommending changes to benefit school districts across the commonwealth. For more, click here. * H.570. An Act to place a moratorium on high-stakes testing (Decker). For three years, places a moratorium on the MCAS high school graduation requirement, the use of MCAS scores for educator evaluation, and accountability provisions of section 1J or section 1K of chapter 69. * H.713. An Act relative to the abolition of MCAS and profiteering from public education (Uyterhoeven). Abolishes the MCAS requirement for high school graduation and investigates opportunity costs and alternative options to instructional, curriculum, and assessment materials and technologies. * H.603. (Gonzalez) An Act to eliminate the use of the MCAS as the sole purpose for high school graduation. The MCAS test or other state-developed standardized tests shall not be a component of the competency determination for high school graduation. |
September 20, 2021
