Massachusetts education officials say MCAS testing is necessary during the pandemic to analyze learning loss and growing achievement gaps. The Department of
MCAS needed to evaluate learning loss during COVID pandemic, Massachusetts education officials say
Updated Jan 05, 2021;
Education officials in Massachusetts say Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System testing is necessary during the pandemic to analyze learning loss and growing achievement gaps.
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education on Tuesday announced that this year’s MCAS would have flexibilities for districts, including a shorter test for students in grades 3-8 and a modified competency determination for the class of 2021. Additionally, DESE Commissioner Jeffrey Riley will not name any new schools or districts as underperforming or chronically underperforming.
“Even though the results from this year’s tests will not be used to declare any school or district as underperforming, they will provide critical diagnostic information for educators, parents, schools and districts,” Massachusetts Secretary of Education James Peyser said in a phone intervi
State Officials Tell Schools MCAS Testing Will Proceed Despite Pandemic
A hallway leading to a classroom at the Browne Middle School in Chelsea, Mass.
Meredith Nierman/WGBH News
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rd through 8
th graders this year as a result of the pandemic but it will not cancel MCAS testing.
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education issued the much-anticipated guidance Tuesday morning in a memo to superintendents. Secretary of Education James Peyser told GBH that the testing will not be used to evaluate underperforming schools but as a way to gauge learning loss during the pandemic.
“We should be able to get a much clearer sense for how much learning was lost during the last year,” Peyser said. “It will hopefully … give us an opportunity to not only identify where the gaps are, but hopefully direct us in terms of ensuring that students are getting extra help and that schools and districts are getting the resources they need for the students and children who need them
Monty Tech awarded $323,160 grant in Baker-Polito administration’s latest round of skills capital grant
Montachusett School
Modified: 12/20/2020 2:48:38 PM
FITCHBURG On Dec. 10, the Baker-Polito administration announced $11.7 million in Skills Capital Grants awarded to 47 educational institutions across the Commonwealth to update equipment and expand student enrollment in programs that provide career education. Local vocational-technical high school, Monty Tech, was among the list of grateful recipients.
“Monty Tech has come to rely of grant funding to update and improve our programs,” said Sheila Harrity, Superintendent-Director of Monty Tech. “We continually seek competitive grants, such as the Skills Capital Grant, to ensure our students are being trained on the most current equipment, and familiar with the latest technology, and we could not be more grateful for the continued support shown by the Baker-Polito Administration. They are truly champions of workforce