The Massachusetts Business Alliance continues to support the requirement that students meet an MCAS standard in order to graduate from high school.

The MCAS holds us all accountable for recognizing that all students can achieve if provided the right supports. Requiring students to meet an MCAS standard in order to graduate high school ensures ALL districts are setting a minimum academic standard. Eliminating the MCAS graduation requirement would leave us without a common standard of achievement that all students, across all communities and all walks of life, in every corner of Massachusetts are expected to meet. MCAS is a crucial instrument for measuring students’ vital signs to make sure they’re getting the education they deserve and that they need to be successful after high school. It ensures that schools are all working to help students meet the same standard.

Importantly, we know from Brown University research that “high school MCAS scores predict long-term success and appear to reflect students’ academic skills,” not simply socio-economic status or school characteristics, and “students scoring near the (previous score that was raised in August 2022) passing cutoff do not fare well and do not appear to be college- or career-ready, on average.” This information is essential to providing the supports students need to meet the standard and leave high school prepared for college and careers.

We can’t eliminate gaps in achievement and equity if we strip ourselves of the tools to measure them. Instead of wasting time fighting for legislation that does away with the graduation standard, a true commitment to equity requires we focus squarely on helping all students meet it.