Op-ed: Why Mass. must not let up on testing students

Massachusetts’ story is well known in the education world. In the wake of the 1993 Massachusetts Education Reform Act, student achievement shot up, and the Commonwealth’s students became the nation’s best performers.

The law worked not only because it was good policy, but because the grand bargain at its core — a massive infusion of new state money in return for high standards and enhanced accountability — was politically viable. Parts of it have come under attack in the intervening decades, but a Massachusetts Teachers Association bill that would place a three-year moratorium on the graduation requirement that public school students pass state tests in English, math, and science represents the first frontal assault on the core principles of reform.

The moratorium on high-stakes testing flouts high standards and accountability. Nonetheless, the MTA still proposes massive increases in state spending on K-12 education.  Read more in The Boston Globe.