Leading business groups from across Massachusetts joined MBAE today in opposing proposed legislation that would alter the use of MCAS, a valuable tool for identifying gaps and measuring outcomes, particularly given its heightened value in helping us understand the effects that the recent pandemic has had on student learning.

In a letter sent to the Joint Committee on Education, they said “The Commonwealth should be proud of its constitutional commitment to providing equity of educational opportunity for every public school student. The information that MCAS provides is integral to understanding if we are serving students in the way that the constitution, the Student Opportunity Act, and the moment require. As long as we are committed to a state responsibility to assure an excellent and equitable public education, we will need a tool to understand how well we are doing.”

Read the full letter here.