Next Generation MCAS Was Approved by Board of Elementary and Secondary Education

On Tuesday, November 17th, a new hybrid test, nicknamed the next generation MCAS was approved by Board of Elementary and Secondary Education by vote of 8 to 3. After 2 years of piloting the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers(PARCC) exam, a proposal was made by Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Mitchell Chester to administer a test which combined the best elements of the original Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System(MCAS) and the new PARCC exam.

This new test, which has not yet been developed, has been labeled the “next generation MCAS” and is scheduled to launch by Spring of 2017 and be online by Spring of 2019. As far as this year, districts that administered the PARCC system in spring 2015 will stick with that this coming spring. Those that used the MCAS last spring will have the choice of administering the MCAS again this year, or switching over to PARCC. Board of Elementary and Secondary Education chairman Paul Sagan said that he believes “this is going to be one of the most important policy decisions [that] any group in the commonwealth will make for many years to come.”

Massachusetts is required by federal law to only administer one test by the Spring of 2017. According to Chairman Paul Sagan Massachusetts was given a two-year waiver to the law in order to pilot the PARCC exam before voting on whether to fully switch to the PARCC exam, or keep the MCAS.

As far as differences between the PARCC and MCAS, the PARCC requires more critical thinking skills according to state officials. It is more suitable to the “Common Core” standards adopted by Massachusetts in 2010.

The MCAS has been a part of the Massachusetts school system since 1997, and has been a graduation requirement since 2003. Passing the MCAS will remain a requirement for the class of 2019, who will be taking it in the Spring of 2017. Beginning in the Spring of 2018, the “MCAS 2.0” would also become a graduation requirement for every sophomore class. During the first year of the new exam, districts will not be held accountable for scores, a decision made by a 7 to 4 vote. This is the same approach taken in the first year of the PARCC exam, and is done to assure that appropriate scores are being received and that the test is performing in the way which it is intended.

As of now, it is unclear what this new hybrid test will look like, although many predict it will be the PARCC test under a new name. Whatever the case may be, this drawn out uncertainty is becoming detrimental to students and districts, but it seems that a solution is not too far away.

Amanda De Moraes

Boston Tutoring Services