Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System

The Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment system, or commonly abbreviated as MCAS /ˈɛmkæs/, ', is the Commonwealth's statewide standards-based assessment program developed in 1993, in response to the Massachusetts Education Reform Act of the same year. State and federal law mandates that all students who are enrolled in the tested grades and who are educated with Massachusetts public funds participate in MCAS testing.Students are prepared for the exams throughout their academic careers through primary and secondary education. However, if an individual student needs help improving in a particular test, the first step in giving that student the extra help he or she needs is to identify specific weaknesses. Sometimes the student, teachers, or parents are aware of the weaknesses, sometimes they are not. To ascertain what the student knows as well as what he or she needs to learn, a diagnostic test may be administered.Students take different tests according to their grade level. In addition to these tests, students may be required to take tryouts and pilot tests. The following list is current as of spring 2017. It is required for a student to pass the English Language Arts, Mathematics and Science and Technology/Engineering portions of the Grade 10 test in order to meet the Competency Determination requirement.The MCAS has been criticized for being too narrow in nature and for pressuring teachers into restricting the curriculum to material covered by the tests. It has been met with opposition from mayor Scott W. Lang from New Bedford, who called it 'completely unsustainable' and 'impractical'. He claimed that the MCAS was causing students to drop out of high school, and expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that public high school students must pass the MCAS to graduate. Charles Gobron, superintendent of the Northborough school district, claimed that the standards set by the MCAS were 'unfair', and that the minimum threshold for proficiency on the tests was being raised each year, 'making it look like schools are doing worse than they really are.' The MCAS has also faced opposition from public school teachers. Some, such as Joan Bonsignore of Easthampton High School, claim that the tests do not accurately demonstrate the skills of students, and that they cause anxiety among the students.