State looking to vote on MCAS appeals

MALDEN – A proposal to lighten the appeals process on the science and technology MCAS test for high school students will go to a final vote next month, but state education officials want to hear from the public before putting the changes on any meeting agenda.
The proposed changes, announced by State Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester and tentatively approved by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education last month, would allow high school students who failed the science and technology MCAS exam to file an appeal after taking just one test.
Students must fail the math and English/ language arts test three times before they are allowed to file an appeal.
The board voted to institute the changes as an emergency regulation in September, just a week prior to the release of 2007-2008 MCAS scores, so that students who failed that test could have an opportunity to begin the appeals process early.
Last year was the first in which high school 10th graders, the class of 2010, needed to pass the test in order to graduate, and many scores across the state came back lower than expected.
The board made the decision to change the appeals process to one test because the science and technology exam is not a cumulative test such as the math and ELA exams. Math and ELA are based on total knowledge of the two subjects as learned throughout a student’s lifetime in school.
In contrast, the science and technology exam is given based on the current courses each student takes in that subject, therefore, if a student fails a test one year they would be forced to take a completely different test based on the course that they enroll in the following school year.
Officials have also stated a desire to ease the workload on students and teachers, and said forcing students to take a second test before appealing could affect the way vocational schools operate as well.
Regardless of the board’s reasoning, the new appeals process should be handy for many Lynn students who, like the majority of the state, struggled to make the grade on last year’s science and technology exam.
While the city was able to show pockets of success, especially among ninth graders taking the test at Classical, the overall grades on the high school science exams fell below state averages.
In all, 29 percent of the class of 2010 failed the exam, and the majority, 42 percent, scored in the “needs improvement” category,
By filing an appeal, high school students can avoid having to repeat the test, earning credit by taking and passing a comparable science course in the same year that they appeal the test. The student must have a 95 percent attendance record both in the year of the original test and in the year of the appeal.
The appeal does not change the graduation requirements for any student, but does provide some relief for students struggling to pass the test.
Chester has asked that parents and other members of the public weigh in on the issue, which is required under the state’s Administrative Procedure Act, prior to Oct. 31, and has tentatively scheduled a final vote on the matter Nov. 18 when the board meets in full.
Copies of the proposed changes are available through the board’s Web site, www.doe.mass.edu/lawsregs, or by calling 781-338-3112. Written public comment may be submitted via email to [email protected], by mail to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 350 main St., Malden, Ma 02148, or by fax to 781-338-3195.