I chose MCAS as my blog topic, because I feel it is a flawed system and I often hear teachers discussing the same thing and having similar views as myself. It seems to stress students out and scare them by threatening taking away graduation. They serve courses to prepare, which cost money. Since when does education revolve around the almighty buck?
Is the MCAS system hurting the children?
"The Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) is the Commonwealth's statewide assessment program developed in response to the Education Reform Act of 1993. MCAS, along with other components of education reform, is designed to strengthen public education in Massachusetts and ensure that all students participate in a challenging curriculum based on the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks." ~Department of Education
I feel MCAS is absolutely hurting our children. It's is preventing teachers from teaching topics they may really feel passionate about covering. The MCAS system can upset teachers and make them miserable due to an
uninteresting curriculum. An uninteresting curriculum can lead to uninterested teachers, which easily reflects to the students who also become uninterested. The Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education has stated that employers have little to no interest in a students MCAS scores. It seems that the MCAS is used as a way to evaluate schools and distribute funding over assisting in a child's future. Massachusetts Department of Education has confirmed that ch
ildren who fail the MCAS are "11 times more likely" to drop out. By rewarding schools with higher MCAS scores by increasing their funding, schools are concentrating more and more on this test instead of what is really needed for a student to prepare for college.
I feel the MCAS is helping destroy the school system and make an already flawed system even worse. Everyone was getting comfortable with a very routine system and then they force it into even more constraints. The teachers have no freedom, the schools need the money and therefore have no freedom, and the students can sense this and feel bullied into a corner with boring topics.
When money is involved schools will go through anything to score high on the MCAS. Many will encourage drop outs for those who are under-achievers. They will encourage teachers to ditch the subjects that they worked so hard to learn and master to teach the MCAS. I'm very glad I'm going to be a music teacher, so I don't have to worry about a drastic curriculum change based on bribery.
Helpful Links that Informed Me:
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