Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System

The Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, commonly shortened to MCAS (icon), is the Commonwealth's statewide standards-based assessment

Standards-based assessment

A standards based test is one based on the outcome-based education or performance-based education philosophy. Assessment is a key part of the standards reform movement. The first part is to set new, higher standards to be expected of every student. Then the curriculum must be aligned to the new...

program developed in 1993, in response to the Massachusetts Education Reform Act

Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993

The Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993 is legislation passed in Massachusetts mandating several modern educational reforms over a 7-year period. The reforms included the introduction of charter schools and the standardized test, the MCAS. It is based on Outcomes Based Education.- External...

of the same year. State and federal law mandates that all student

Student

A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...

s who are enrolled in the tested grades and who are educated with Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

public funds participate in MCAS testing.

MCAS has three primary purposes:

To inform and improve curriculum and instruction.
To evaluate student, school, and district performance according to Massachusetts Curriculum Framework content standards and Performance Standards.
To determine student eligibility for the Competency Determination requirement in order to award high school diplomas.

If necessary, students are given multiple opportunities to pass the test.
Massachusetts fulfills the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act

No Child Left Behind Act

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 is a United States Act of Congress concerning the education of children in public schools.NCLB was originally proposed by the administration of George W. Bush immediately after he took office...

by administering MCAS tests in English language arts

Language arts

Traditionally, the primary divisions in the language arts are Literature and Language, where language in this case refers to both linguistics, and specific languages....

(ELA) and Mathematics

Mathematics

Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...

to students in grades 3-8 and 10. Additional MCAS tests are administered in Science and Technology/Engineering

Science

Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...

(grades 5, 8, 9/10).

Types of Questions

The tests use four varieties of questions. The multiple-choice questions are included on all but the ELA Composition tests and require students to choose one answer from four given answers. These types of questions are machine-scored.

The short-answer questions on the MCAS are only included in the mathematics tests. They require the student to give a short numerical answer or a brief statement.

Open-response questions are included on all MCAS tests but the ELA Composition and grade 3 mathematics tests. They require students to generate their own responses. Students create a one-two paragraph response in writing or in the form of a narrative, chart, table, diagram, illustration, or graph, as appropriate. Students can receive up to four points for each open-response question.

Writing prompts are included only on ELA Composition tests and require students to respond by creating a written composition. Compositions are scored based on two things. For topic development, students are scored based on a six-score point scale, with students receiving from 2 to 12 points (the sum of scores from each of the two scorers). For Standard English conventions, students are scored based on a four-point scale, with students receiving from 2 to 8 points (the sum of the scores from each of the two scorers).

Preparation

Students are prepared for the exams throughout their academic careers by in-class instruction. 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, and/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. If all else fails, they must do something.

Grade levels

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 2010. It is required for a student to pass both the English Language Arts and Mathematics portions of the Grade 10 test in order to meet the Competency Determination requirement. Beginning with the graduating class of 2010 students are also required to pass a Science and Technology/Engineering Test.

{| class="wikitable" border="2"
|+ colspan="2" | Spring 2010 MCAS Tests by grade level
|-
!Grade
!Subject
|-
|3||Reading, Math
|-
|4|||English Language Arts Reading Comprehension and Composition, Math
|-
|5||English Language Arts Reading Comprehension, Math, and Science and Technology/Engineering
|-
|6||English Language Arts Reading Comprehension, Math
|-
|7||English Language Arts Reading Comprehension and Composition, and Math
|-
|8||English Language Arts Reading Comprehension, Math, Science and Technology/Engineering
|-
|10||English Language Arts Reading Comprehension and Composition, Math, Science
|-
|HS||Biology, Chemistry, Introductory Physics, or Technology/Engineering
|-

Note: Students in grades 9 and 10 take a Science and Technology/Engineering test in biology, chemistry, introductory physics, or technology/engineering.

Note: The History and Social Sciences test was placed on hold for the 2009 and 2010 MCAS administration years, due to budgetary concerns.

Scoring and results

The MCAS scale ranges from 200 to 280. Performance levels correspond to the following score points on the scale:

{| class="wikitable" border="2"
|+ colspan="2" | General MCAS Performance Level Definitions
|-
!Performance Level
!Definition
|-
|Advanced (260-280)||Students at this level demonstrate a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of rigorous subject matter and provide sophisticated solutions to complex problems.
|-
|Proficient (240-259)||Students at this level demonstrate a solid understanding of challenging subject matter and solve a wide variety of problems.
|-
|Needs Improvement (220-239)||Students at this level demonstrate a partial understanding of subject matter and solve some simple problems.
|-
|Warning/Failing (200-219)||Students at this level demonstrate a minimal understanding of subject matter and do not solve simple problems.
|}
An Educational Proficiency Plan EPP must be developed for the subject matter area(s) in English Language Arts and mathematics in which students did not meet or exceed a scaled score of 240.

10th graders who achieve an Advanced score in either the ELA or Mathematics section of the test, at least a Proficient on the other section, and have a score that puts them in the top 25% in their school district become eligible for the John and Abigail Adams Scholarship. Recipients receive a tuition waiver to attend state colleges and universities in Massachusetts. The waiver is in effect for 8 consecutive traditional semesters or 4 years.

MCAS school and district level reports are released each summer on the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education website.

Criticism

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

New Bedford, Massachusetts

New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, located south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and about east of Fall River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 95,072, making it the sixth-largest city in Massachusetts...

, 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

Northborough, Massachusetts

Northborough is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The official spelling of the town's name is "Northborough", but the shorter spelling "Northboro" is also used...

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

Easthampton, Massachusetts

Easthampton is the second largest city in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The town is on the southeastern edge of an area called the Pioneer Valley near the five colleges in the college towns of Northampton and Amherst, MA...

High School, claim that the tests do not accurately demonstrate the skills of students, and that they cause anxiety among the students.

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