In light of the coronavirus (COVID-19) and its impact on our schools and students, it is critical that Massachusetts officials seek and obtain a testing waiver from the U.S. Department of Education and cancel this year's MCAS tests.  

Standardized tests have never been a comprehensive measure of student learning, and during a pandemic cannot possibly measure student learning with any validity. Testing will only mean that all students will lose precious learning time, while, disproportionally, Black, Latinx, low-income, English learners and special education students will fall even further behind.

In November, delegates to the MA Association of School Committees voted overwhelmingly, by 112-9, in favor of a resolution calling on the state to suspend MCAS testing this year. In addition, more than 28 individual school committees have passed their own resolutions, similar to the MASC's Resolution #1, calling for an MCAS suspension and re-affirming the vote of the MASC delegates.

If your school committee has already passed such a resolution (the list is here), they deserve your thanks. If not, please use this campaign to send an email urging your school committee to pass a resolution and reach out to the governor, education secretary and state legislature about the urgent need to cancel MCAS tests this year. If your school committee has already passed a Suspend MCAS resolution and it is not on our list, please let us know.