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November 12, 2015

Pioneer Statement on Next-Generation MCAS Announcement

We applaud the Baker administration for proposing that Massachusetts retain its academic independence and testing autonomy, but the Commonwealth should reject any further participation in the PARCC consortium. MCAS has served Massachusetts very well for nearly two decades. The test and the...
Education
November 11, 2015

Fordham report predictable, conflicted

Guest Post by Richard P. Phelps On November 17, the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) will decide the fate of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) and the Partnership for Assessment of College Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC)...
Education
November 10, 2015

Study: Poor Performance of Other States in PARCC Consortium Would Translate to Lower Standards for Mass.

Attacks on MCAS for not producing “college-ready” graduates demonstrates lack of understanding of test’s purpose BOSTON – Political realities dictate that, as with any tests, passing scores on those developed by the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC)...
Education
October 27, 2015

Testing the Tests: Why MCAS Is Better Than PARCC

Study:  MCAS Less Expensive, More Rigorous and Provides Better Information than PARCC  Authors call for state to phase out both PARCC and Common Core BOSTON – In the wake of an apparent shift by Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Mitchell Chester making...
Education
September 23, 2015

Statement on 2015 MCAS Results and Preliminary, Incomplete 2015 PARCC Results

The release of 2015 MCAS results together with a patchwork of preliminary 2015 PARCC testing results provides little new information to help Massachusetts choose between the two tests. PARCC supporters claim the test’s rigor is evidenced by the fact that fewer students...
Education
September 1, 2015

Op-ed: Big money pushes PARCC and Common Core

Each year, much is written and said about K-12 education when students head back to school. That will be especially true this fall, as the education policy community eagerly awaits a decision by the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education about whether to...
Education
July 7, 2015

Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester Should Recuse Himself from Upcoming Decision on PARCC & MCAS

BOSTON – Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Mitchell Chester, who later this year will make a recommendation to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (the board) about whether to replace MCAS tests with those developed by the Partnership for the...
Education
June 16, 2015

Why Massachusetts Should Abandon the PARCC Tests & Common Core

It is difficult to find any public analysis and comments by teachers, parents, researchers, or literary scholars on PARCC’s “practice” and “sample” test items for English language arts for grades 3-11.   Taking the bull by the horns, that is what I...
Education
March 16, 2015

Patriot Ledger: TOM BIRMINGHAM: Plan to scrap MCAS is a race to the middle

Read this op-ed in The Patriot Ledger, where it was originally published on March 14, 2015 Since adopting the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System test, student achievement in Massachusetts has become the envy of the nation and among the best in the world....
Education
July 8, 2014

On Common Core, a Study in Contrasts

In a front-page article in June, the Washington Post featured corporate billionaire Bill Gates as a political sinner who deserves sainthood because his heart is in the right place.  He bought off every organization in the country and colluded with the U.S....