October 21, 2024

E4E – MASSACHUSETTS JOINS “NO ON 2” COALITION 

Educators For Excellence •

E4E opposes ballot measure that would eliminate MCAS as a statewide graduation standard, citing strong educator support for such a standard

BOSTON, MA / October 21, 2024 — Today, Educators for Excellence – Massachusetts (E4E-MA) officially joined the No on 2 coalition after engaging nearly 150 educators on the issue. With over two-thirds expressing the belief that students should meet a consistent statewide standard to graduate, E4E-MA—a teacher-led organization—expressed concern that Question 2 eliminates the current statewide standard of MCAS without an alternative replacement.

“After speaking with educators across Massachusetts, it’s clear that the MCAS ballot measure is not as simple as a ‘yes or no’ vote,” said Lisa Lazare, Executive Director of E4E-MA. “Educators widely agree that assessing student learning and growth is vital to student success. While many educators want change, removing the MCAS as a graduation requirement without a replacement would leave the Commonwealth with no mechanism for ensuring districts are delivering—and students are receiving—the content they need to be successful.”

If approved by voters, the ballot measure would not only eliminate MCAS as a graduation requirement but also prohibit the use of any statewide or school districtwide assessment as a graduation requirement. Those graduation requirements would instead be turned to the over 300 school districts across Massachusetts, leading to a patchwork and inconsistent set of criteria across the Commonwealth. Such a system would inevitably lead to gross inequities from school to school, harming student outcomes.  

“Massachusetts has made great strides in recent years when it comes to education diversity and equity. We want to ensure that the choices made during the November election have the long-term best interest of students in mind,” continued Lazare. “Nuanced issues merit nuanced conversations. Unfortunately, the current campaign to eliminate MCAS as a graduation requirement oversimplifies teachers’ perspectives on the issue. We should be focused on improving MCAS as our statewide graduation requirement standard–not eliminating it.”

About E4E

Founded by public school teachers, Educators for Excellence is a growing movement of more than 30,000 educators, united around a common set of values and principles for improving student learning and elevating the teaching profession. We work together to identify issues that impact our schools, create solutions to these challenges, and advocate for policies and programs that give all students access to a quality education. For more information, please visit e4e.org/boston.

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Educators For Excellence