Dr. Richard Phelps on Post-MCAS Assessments & Accountability in MA

On this week’s episode of The Learning Curve, co-hosts Alisha Searcy of the Center for Strong Public Schools and Mary Tamer of MassPotential speak with Dr. Richard Phelps, the author of Pioneer Institute’s recent paper, Post-MCAS Assessments and Accountability in Massachusetts, to unpack the past, present, and future of K-12 accountability in the Commonwealth. Looking back at the 1993 Massachusetts Education Reform Act (MERA), Dr. Phelps explores how rigorous academic standards and the original MCAS testing system helped propel Massachusetts to the top of national and international rankings in reading, math, and science. Phelps explains how Massachusetts’ 2010 adoption of Common Core national standards and the shift away from the original MCAS framework led to a dramatic decline in academic performance on NAEP after 2011. Shifting to today, Dr. Phelps discusses the implications of the 2024 ballot initiative that eliminated MCAS as a high school graduation requirement. He outlines the major takeaways from Post-MCAS Assessments and Accountability in Massachusetts, including recommendations for statewide end-of-course exams, as well as the weaknesses of portfolio assessments. He underscores why strong, independent academic oversight is essential in a post-MCAS landscape. He advocates reinstating an independent Office of Educational Quality and Accountability to deliver transparent, data-driven evaluations of school districts and ensure Massachusetts maintains high academic expectations for all students.

Stories of the Week: Alisha shares an article from EducationNext on how the United States is reapproaching how we teach and assess civics. Mary explores how rising school costs and dwindling enrollment could lead to the fiscal downfall of rural schools in Massachusetts, according to a new article from The Boston Globe.

Guest:

Dr. Richard Phelps is the founder of the Nonpartisan Education Group and the author of Pioneer Institute’s recent paper, Post-MCAS Assessments and Accountability in Massachusetts. Across his career in educational assessments, testing, and accountability, he worked as director of policy research for ACT, Inc.; a research fellow for the Educational Testing Service; a senior research analyst for the American Institutes for Research; and project manager for the U.S. Congress’s General Accounting Office. Phelps was also a Fulbright Scholar with a specialty in public administration. He is the editor or author of five books, including The Malfunction of U.S. Education Policy, (2023); Correcting Fallacies about Educational and Psychological Testing, (2008-09); Standardized Testing Primer (2007); and Defending Standardized Testing, (2005). Phelps earned degrees from Washington, Indiana, and Harvard Universities, and  holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy Analysis from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.