Boston Globe Editorial: With MCAS requirement gone, the state needs new graduation standards

The state can lead once again by creating an improved, more holistic graduation standard that better reflects the knowledge, skills, and competencies students need

By Dr. Stephen Zrike and Ed Lambert

On Nov. 5, Massachusetts voters rejected the system of using a public school student’s 10th-grade MCAS scores to certify academic readiness for high school graduation. The state now has an opportunity to create a new standard that preserves high academic expectations for all students and emphasizes the broader set of skills and experiences that prepare students for success in adulthood.

In the absence of any state action to create a new statewide standard, the removal of the MCAS graduation requirement means the Commonwealth will have no uniform standard for high school graduation. Unless education and policy leaders move urgently to fill this void, each district will be left to decide how high, or low, a bar it will set for students earning a diploma. College admissions officers and employers will be unable to ascribe any consistent value to a high school diploma awarded in Massachusetts. We don’t believe that’s what voters intended, and we are concerned that this lack of a uniform standard will exacerbate inequities. A high school diploma must be meaningful in every community, and students who earn one must be truly ready for the future.

In the wake of the vote, some have speculated that Massachusetts is losing its leadership role in education, and we share that concern. Yet we believe the state can lead once again by creating an improved, more holistic graduation standard that better reflects the knowledge, skills, and competencies students need for positive outcomes in college, careers,and engaged citizenship.

The first step is determining how to define success. That requires the perspectives of K-12 educators, higher education officials, employers, workforce training experts, and others who understand the demands of college and the workforce, and who can help identify the skills that students need to thrive and fully participate in our democracy. A process should be started immediately to gather these voices in an effort to create a new graduation standard.

A new standard must require a strong academic foundation for every student. Taking rigorous coursework is crucially important to students’ future success, whether they are going to college or straight into the workforce. The state has a recommended program of studies known as MassCore that is designed to ensure students are prepared for college and careers, but access to the courses and participation is uneven. And simply mandating all students take MassCore is not the answer. A mandate does not guarantee quality of curriculum and instruction or that students are mastering the coursework.

To ensure all students have acquired the academic knowledge and skills they need for success, the state needs objective, common assessments and cannot rely on grades only, which vary from district to district, school to school, and classroom to classroom. Having a uniform academic standard served the Commonwealth well, ensuring a consistent bar across all districts and accelerating achievement across all student groups. More important, uniform standards ensure high expectations for all students, which is essential to maintaining educational equity. Some states are using the SATs or uniform end-of-course assessments to measure achievement. Massachusetts must consider similar strategies.

A new graduation standard should also encourage and recognize high school students who earn college credits or industry-recognized credentials or who participate in career vocational technical education, internships, or apprenticeships. Each of these experiences, and others that can be defined, can allow for some student choice in how they earn credit toward a new graduation standard.

All of this will require a redesign of the high school experience. To move toward this model, the state must expand access to high school pathway programs like Early College, which is making college more accessible and affordable by allowing students to earn college credits for free while in high school, as well as work-based learning programs that provide students opportunities to learn real-world skills and earn valuable credentials.

More than 30 years ago, Massachusetts created a new model for education when it passed the Education Reform Act of 1993. The reforms brought about by that legislation catapulted Massachusetts to first-in-the-nation status in student achievement and became a national model for reform. The vote to eliminate MCAS as a graduation requirement gives Massachusetts a new opportunity to provide the educational experiences it takes for students to be successful and to define what it means for students to be ready for the future.

Stephen Zrike Jr. is superintendent of Salem Public Schools. Ed Lambert is executive director of the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education.