By Bethany Bray
Staff Writer
—
There is mixed reaction in Andover educational circles on how the "Common Core" national standards touted by the Obama administration would compare to the MCAS test, now in its 10th year of statewide use.
Massachusetts Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester expressed support for national standards in math and English last week, a move some say could signal the end of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System standardized testing in those areas.
"I'm not convinced this is a bad way to go, nor the best way to go," said State Sen. Sue Tucker. "My call is to slow down here. It needs a broader discussion."
Tucker met with the chairman of the joint house and senate education committee this week to suggest they hold a public hearing "to find out what this would mean to our schools, in terms of resources and retraining," she said.
Denise Nash, who has one child at Wood Hill Middle School and one at Andover High School, said she is not against the idea of standardized testing, having grown up in New York state and taken the rigorous Regents exams.
"What I don't like about the MCAS is that how well a child does on this test, is a reflection on the school or the teacher. Because of this, it seems that more and more teachers are teaching to the test," said Nash. "This takes away a teachers ability to be creative. Also, the results come back so long after the test is taken that, the kids are in a different grade with different teachers."
Gov. Deval Patrick's office, former Massachusetts education commissioners Robert Antonucci and David Driscoll have expressed support for the national standard. The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education was set to vote on adopting the national standards Wednesday, July 21, after Townsman deadline.
Chester, the commissioner of secondary and elementary education, sent a memo to the board July 16 stating "the advantages of adopting the Common Core Standards outweigh the disadvantages."
Comparison of the two tests found the national standards to be "more rigorous, coherent and focused" than Massachusetts standards, wrote Chester.
"Andover is a high-performing district, and MCAS reflects that. We don't want to see time spent on the test when we're doing far more advanced work in classrooms," said Tom Meyers, AHS social studies teacher and teachers union president. "MCAS sets a minimum standard for graduation. I don't think it's overly emphasized in Andover ... Among my colleagues, I'm not hearing people denigrate the MCAS in any way. It's something we go through, but not a significant part of learning. It's one indicator."
Longtime school supporter Diane Costagliola, whose youngest son graduated from Andover High School in June, is wary of Common Core. The federal government "has a habit of dictating initiatives and then not following up with the appropriate funding to see it through," she said.
"While I do believe that there are some advantages to trying to create a level playing field for all students, I believe it is up to the educators in each state to come up with the benchmarks for core curriculum after there has been careful analysis of student performance. I have a hard time believing that there could be essentially 'a one size fits all' standards directive that will work well for all areas of the country," said Costagliola.
Tucker, a former classroom teacher, set up a night for parents to come to AHS and take a practice MCAS test when it was first introduced 10 years ago.
"Whether you love or hate the MCAS, most agree that it has done more to raise our state's educational standards than any other form in recent history," said Tucker. "Just chasing federal dollars is not a good reason to go with these (national) standards. As a former teacher, I know the time and money that go into any program is substantial."
Former School Committee member Debra Silberstein also expressed concern that a shift to national standards could create additional costs for school districts.
Silberstein said she could support the national standards only if they were created with input from professional educators, raised standards for all students and would not stifle creativity in the classroom.
Andover students consistently score above average on the MCAS, which is taken in third-, eighth- and tenth-grades. Students must pass the test in high school to receive a diploma.
Costagliola goes with the 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' philosophy.
"I can't speak for other towns, but here in Andover our students do exceptional on the MCAS and, in conjunction with many other things, are fully prepared for life after high school. This is the true measure of success. By the end of their senior year, most of our students go on to competitive colleges and, for the most part, do very well," said Costagliola.
School Committee Chairman Dennis Forgue said standardized testing falls outside of the realm of the School Committee, and would defer to Superintendent Marinel McGrath.
"It's not an area we really weigh in on. It's an academic area," said Forgue.
McGrath did not return a call seeking comment before Townsman deadline. Assistant Superintendent Susan Nicholson, who compiles Andover's MCAS scores each year, is on vacation through August and could not be reached.
School Committee members Annie Gilbert, Paula Colby-Clements and David Birnbach could also not be reached for comment before deadline.
Supporters say Common Core aims to create a uniform set of expectations for students across the country, eliminating inequalities in public education state-to-state, region-to-region. The standards would also ensure a student moving across state lines would not be far behind or ahead of their new classmates.
Under Common Core, third-graders should understand subject-verb agreement, fifth-graders need to know about metaphors and similes and seventh-graders must understand how to calculate surface area, for instance. States that sign up are supposed to use the standards as a base on which to build their curricula and testing, but they can make their benchmarks tougher than Common Core.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
