|
MCAS Frequently
Asked Questions
For
more information, click here to link to the Department of
Education's website
1.
What are the State testing requirements?
MCAS
was implemented in response to the Education Reform Law of
1993 , which required that MCAS be
designed to:
 |
test
all public school students across the Commonwealth,
including students with disabilities and students with
limited English proficiency |
|
be
administered annually in at least grades 4, 8, and 10 * |
|
measure
performance based on the Massachusetts Curriculum
Framework learning standards |
|
report
on the performance of individual students, schools, and
districts |
|
serve
as one basis of accountability for students, schools, and
districts (for example, beginning with the class of 2003,
grade 10 students must pass the MCAS test as one condition
of eligibility for earning a high school diploma.
Students will be given multiple opportunities, if
necessary, to pass the test between grade 10 and the end
of their senior year. In addition to passing the
MCAS tests, students must also meet local requirements for
high school graduation.) |
*Beginning
in 2001, students in grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 10 will be
tested.
2.
What is tested on the MCAS?
Learning
standards in the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks
|
English
Language Arts |
|
Mathematics |
|
Science
and Technology Engineering
|
3.
What types of questions appear on the MCAS?
Multiple-choice
questions
|
used
in all content area tests
|
students
select an answer from four options
|
|
Short-answer
questions
|
used
in Mathematics tests only
|
students
generate a brief response, for example, a short statement
or computation leading to a numeric solution
|
|
Open-response
questions
|
used
in all content area tests
|
students
create a one- or two-paragraph response in writing or in
the form of a narrative or a chart, table, diagram,
illustration, or graph, as appropriate
|
|
Writing
Prompts
|
used
in English Language Arts tests only
|
students
write a composition based on the writing prompt, which may
relate to a reading passage
|
|
4.
How are the student answers scored?
Over
6 million student responses are scored by professional scorers
and Massachusetts teachers who have been specifically trained.
All
open response answers are scored by professional scorers only.
The
compositions are scored by Massachusetts teachers at the
Summer Scoring Institutes held since 1998.
Responses
to the open-response questions are scored using a scoring
guide, or rubric. MCAS scoring guides indicate what knowledge
and skills students must demonstrate to earn 1, 2, 3, or 4
score points.
Students'
compositions are evaluated on two criteria:
|
topic
development, based on a 1-6 score point scale
|
standard
English conventions, based on a 1-4 score point scale
|
|
5.
How are test results reported?
Results
are reported for individual students, schools, and districts
according to four performance levels defined by the Board of
Education:
|
Advanced
|
Proficient
|
Needs
Improvement
|
Failing
|
| | |
6.
How are test results used?
Improvements
in teaching and learning
|
Parents
and students will use the results to monitor students
progress.
|
Local
educators will use results to help identify strengths and
weaknesses in curriculum and instruction.
|
|
School
and district accountability
|
The
Board of Education has established standards for performance
for districts that improve or fail to improve student
academic performance, as required by the Education Reform
Law.
|
Student
accountability
|
Beginning
with the Class of 2003, students will be required to pass
the MCAS grade 10 tests in English Language Arts
and Mathematics as one requirement for a high
school diploma. Students will be given multiple
opportunities, if necessary, to pass the tests. Students
must also meet local graduation requirements for high school
graduation, for example, completion of required coursework.
|
7.
Is a ranking of districts and towns by MCAS scores available?
The
Massachusetts Department of Education does NOT
rank cities or towns based on MCAS
scores. Often local media do take
the statewide results and create their own rankings. However,
this is not encouraged or endorsed by the Department of
Education.
8.
Are all students required to participate?
All
public school students in grades being testing, including
students
|
in
charter schools
|
in
institutional school programs
|
in
educational collaboratives
|
receiving
publicly funded special education in private schools
|
with
disabilities who either have an Instructional Education
Program (IEP) or receive Section 504 instructional
accommodations
|
who
are limited English proficient (unless they have been
enrolled in United States schools for three or fewer years
AND who are ineligible for the
Spanish-language version of MCAS)
|
| | | | |
The
Education Reform Law of 1993 requires the participation of all
public school students in grades being tested. This law
ensures that all students are provided with an opportunity to
learn the material covered by the Massachusetts Curriculum
Frameworks'academic learning standards.
Home-schooled
students are not enrolled in the public
school system and are, therefore, not
required nor entitled by law to participate
in MCAS. After MCAS has been fully implemented, the Department
of Education plans to consider whether and under what
circumstances it is feasible to permit privately educated
students, including those being home-schooled, to participate
in the MCAS testing program if they wish do so.
9.
Can parents refuse their child's participation in MCAS?
|
Parents
may not legally refuse their
child's participation in MCAS. Massachusetts General Laws
chapter 76, Sections 2 and 4, establish penalties for
truancy as well as for inducing unlawful absence of a
minor from school. In addition, school discipline codes
generally define local rules for school attendance and
penalties for unauthorized absence from school or from a
required part of the school day.
|
10.
How do students with disabilities participate in the MCAS?
|
The
student's IEP or Section 504 Team determines how
the student will participate in MCAS. If the Team
determines that it is appropriate and allowed within the
guidelines, certain testing accommodations are permitted.
If the Team determines that the student's disability
prevents the student from taking the MCAS tests, even with
accommodations, the Team must develop an alternate
assessment for that student which is appropriate to the
student's academic development. The Department is in the
process of developing a system of alternate assessments
for these students that will be available for MCAS
administrations beginning in the 2000-2001 school year.
|
11.
How do students with limited English proficiency participate
in the MCAS?
A
student with limited English proficiency (LEP) is defined as a
student whose first language is a language other than English
who is unable to perform ordinary classroom work in English.
LEP
students may receive instruction in a range of programs and
settings that include:
|
Transitional
Bilingual Education (TBE) programs
|
two-way
bilingual programs
|
English
as a Second Language (ESL) programs
|
sheltered
English-language programs
|
other
language support or tutoring
|
| | | |
Students
with limited English proficiency in tested grades1
are required to take the MCAS tests in English
if they meet either of the following
conditions:
-
the
student had been enrolled in schools in the (continental)
United States for more than three years;
OR
-
the
student has been enrolled in schools in the (continental)
United States for three or fewer years
and will no longer be enrolled in a bilingual program or
receive English as a Second Language support during the
following school year.
Spanish-speaking
LEP students who have been enrolled in schools in the
(continental) United States for three or fewer years
must participate in the Spanish-language versions of the Mathematics,
Science & Technology, and History and Social
Science MCAS tests if they meet all three
of the following criteria:
-
the
student does not have sufficient fluency in English to
participate in the English-language versions of the tests;
AND
-
the
student will continue to receive either instruction in a
Transitional Bilingual Education program or English as a
Second Language support in the 2000-2001 school year; AND
-
the
student can read and write in Spanish.
If
students do not satisfy the above criteria to take either the
English-language or Spanish-language versions of the MCAS
tests, then they are not required to take MCAS tests.
|
