Pioneer Institute Statement on MBAE PARCC/MCAS Study

Recently, the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education (MBAE) continued its advocacy for Common Core and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), a federally funded testing consortium, with the release of a study concluding that the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) performance is not an indicator of preparedness for higher education success. This study perpetuates a deeply troubling pattern of conflicts of interest marking the commonwealth’s consideration of Common Core and PARCC. MBAE has accepted several hundred thousand dollars from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has invested more than $200 million in development of, and advocacy for, Common Core. In addition, this most recent MBAE report was co-authored by Scott Marion, who serves as a technical advisor to PARCC and the United States Department of Education, which funded PARCC. Please find Pioneer’s full statement on this MBAE report.