With MCAS exit exam scrapped, supporters say more 'authentic learning' comes next

It was close to 11:30 p.m. Tuesday evening when Massachusetts Teachers Association President Max Page took the stage inside a banquet room at the Fairmont Copley Plaza Boston.

With just 50% of votes counted, Ballot Question 2 — the MTA-backed measure to overhaul the high school exit exam — was leading 58%, and Page wanted to share the good news with the couple of dozen attendees remaining at the union's election night watch party.

“We’re thrilled. It's late. It's a late night. And I know some people have to get up early,” Page told the crowd. “So we just wanted to say that everyone should give yourselves a round of applause.”

Page's celebratory tone was justified. The measure’s commanding margin never wavered right up until the Associated Press called the results shortly before 4 a.m. Close to 60% of voters in the commonwealth approved the measure, which scraps the two-decade-old MCAS graduation mandate.

“It’s due to this incredible work of our members and this broad, broad coalition that just came together and decided it’s finally time to reorient public education back toward authentic learning and away from this test-and-punish culture,” Page said Tuesday night.

With the initiative prevailing, Massachusetts public high schoolers will no longer have to pass the 10th-grade standardized tests in math, English and science to earn their diploma, starting with this year’s senior class. Schools will continue to administer the MCAS in grades 3 to 8 and grade 10 for diagnostic purposes.

“What happens immediately is there will still be a test in the spring — the MCAS does not disappear,” Page said. “But students will not be denied a diploma. And we think this will start to bend the curve back towards more authentic learning.”

How this change will affect instructional culture inside the classroom remains to be seen, however.

The path to a diploma will now rest upon satisfactorily completing district-certified coursework that meets statewide academic standards — plus any other areas to be determined by the state education board.

In a brief FAQ issued by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education on Wednesday, the state’s acting education commissioner Russell Johnston said guidance on certification will be “forthcoming.” The law takes effect in one month, his memo added.

Reaction to the early morning outcome was swift.

"Eliminating the graduation requirement without a replacement is reckless," John Schneider, chair of the "Vote No on 2" campaign issued in a statement. "Those responsible for our state’s public education system need to have an honest conversation about whether moving forward with this proposal is the right decision for Massachusetts."

Gov. Maura Healey, who opposed the ballot question, didn't weigh in on the implications of the results but re-directed attention to the state education department.

“The voters have spoken on this and I think what’s important now is that DESE move forward in getting out the appropriate guidance now in terms of implementation,” she said in a Wednesday post-election briefing.

Since 2003, passing the Grade 10 MCAS was a uniform statewide graduation requirement. But Massachusetts has been part of a dwindling number of states — about eight in all — to maintain a standardized exit exam. About 700 students each year, or about 1% of eligible seniors, did not successfully pass the exam to earn a diploma — mostly those newly learning English, from low-income backgrounds, or with learning disabilities.

With the requirement's demise, education advocates are urging state education officials to come up with a new high school graduation standard that maintains a high bar for students.

“A high school diploma must be meaningful in every community and students who earn one must be truly ready for the future,” Ed Lambert, executive director of the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education, said in a statement.

Will Austin, CEO of the nonprofit Boston Schools Fund, which also opposed Question 2, said a “starting point” for any new requirements would be “some assurance that kids are getting access to the same curriculum and the same coursework.”

With more than 300 school districts in Massachusetts, some education advocates and officials have expressed concern about an explosion of varying coursework standards across districts that are better-resourced or staffed than others.

But teachers who supported eliminating the high school exit exam said de-coupling the MCAS from graduation requirements will put the focus back on classroom learning.

Kyle Gekopi, a social studies teacher at Wellesley High School and co-president of the Wellesley Educators Association, said he’s encouraged this result is an “enormous victory for equity.”

“This is such a step forward for the individuals in our classroom, our profession and encouraging students to follow their dreams and passions,” he said. “The MCAS is so restrictive on our students seeking different pathways of success, and I would love to see us refocus our curriculum and our work on things that really matter.”

“Our students are more than a score,” Gekopi added.

This was not an inexpensive victory for the state's largest teachers union. The MTA poured $15 million of in-kind contributions into its “Yes on 2” campaign, triple the amount the opposing side spent to keep the status quo.

Business leaders, including deep-pocketed donors such as billionaire Mike Bloomberg, contributed generously to the "No on 2" campaign in recent days. But the final donations ultimately didn't pay off.

MTA leaders said they’re eager to re-emphasize curricular learning in the classroom.

“They key to our success is outstanding educators and resources (given to) them and their schools — and high state standards,” Page said. “And those we have and will continue to have.”