It's been nearly 25 years since the first MCAS tests were taken. Since then, the test and the state's accountability system have brought resources to underfunded schools, highlighted inequities in our education system, and pushed Massachusetts to first in the nation in academics. But, with progress stalling, a new understanding of the importance…

In 1993, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts dramatically overhauled its K-12 education system and created a new school finance formula, building an educational accountability structure to ensure every child has access to a high-quality education. The Massachusetts Education Reform Act (MERA) established academic standards in core subjects, mandated…

In 2016 the state of Massachusetts began a process to end the confusing series of alterations to education by revising and aligning the state's academic standards and tests. In March 2017 the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) approved revisions to the state English language arts (ELA) and math standards. The purpose of this report…

Serious history instruction in K-12 U.S. schools has been in decline for decades. History education in Massachusetts has, until now, fared somewhat better than in the nation at large. In 1993 the commonwealth enacted the Massachusetts Education Reform Act--a bipartisan plan to improve education--which mandated core standards and assessments in…

Back in 2010, then-elementary school Principal Catherine White focused on writing in the Attleboro (Mass.) Public Schools. And with that, the school's fourth graders beat the state average for long composition on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System. White, now a literacy specialist in the Natick (Mass.) Public Schools, looks at that…

Over the past year, the nation's governors and state school chiefs have achieved laudable consensus around a set of math and English standards, developed voluntarily and without federal involvement through the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI). Most states have signed on to them. More recently, the states have again teamed up--this…

This paper provides information about Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS), a comprehensive standards-based test. The purpose of the test is to: (1) Inform and improve classroom instruction; (2) Evaluate student, school, and district performance according to Massachusetts Curriculum Framework content standards and MCAS performance…

This article reports that special interest groups opposed to charter schools and high-stakes testing have hijacked Massachusetts's once-independent board of education and stand poised to water down the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) tests and the accountability system they support. President Barack Obama and Massachusetts…

This paper discusses how cut scores are set and used and how accurately they reflect student achievement. Regardless of the method used, the cut-score setting process is subjective. The cut score is the point on a score scale that separates one performance standard from another. Cut scores may also be used to set performance levels for…

Focuses on the impact of both test-based and standards-based reforms on middle level curriculum and instruction. Describes one team's move from a discipline-based curriculum to an integrated curriculum using state standards. Details the experiences of working with students to develop this curriculum and the pleasure of teaching it. (SD)

The Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System is a damaging and dangerous "reform" with fundamental flaws: assumptions that all children undergo the same developmental process and that everyone requires the same knowledge to be successful; the fact that the guide and exams cover irrelevant material; and the idea that testing is…

Teachers may be the most important element of an effective school, but does that mean that K-12 improvement must wait on the ability of schools or systems to recruit, nurture, and retain outstanding teachers? Such a strategy implies that widespread excellence hinges on the ability of publicly funded school systems to attract more than 3.3 million…

This report is one of nine detailed case studies of small urban high schools that served as the foundation for the Education Resource Strategies (ERS) report "Strategic Designs: Lessons from Leading Edge Small Urban High Schools." These nine schools were dubbed "Leading Edge Schools" because they stand apart from other high…

This report is one of nine detailed case studies of small urban high schools that served as the foundation for the Education Resource Strategies (ERS) report "Strategic Designs: Lessons from Leading Edge Small Urban High Schools." These nine schools were dubbed "Leading Edge Schools" because they stand apart from other high…

This report is one of nine detailed case studies of small urban high schools that served as the foundation for the Education Resource Strategies (ERS) report "Strategic Designs: Lessons from Leading Edge Small Urban High Schools." These nine schools were dubbed "Leading Edge Schools" because they stand apart from other high…