Hudson prepares for MCAS testing

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Hudson town iconBy Laura Hayes, Contributing Writer

HUDSON — After being waived last school year, MCAS testing at Hudson Public Schools will kick off next week. 

During a May 11 School Committee meeting, Superintendent Marco Rodrigues said the district recently received its window for administering testing. 

The Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) is an annual test for third through eighth graders and students in grade 10. 

Testing will begin May 17 with the 10th grade English Language Arts MCAS. 

“This has been quite a task for us because it has been a moving target for so many months,” Rodrigues said.

He explained that the state was fluctuating on both whether and how the MCAS would be held this year. 

Last school year, the state received a waiver on the federal requirement to provide an annual statewide assessment. Additionally, in April, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education decided that the class of 2022 could graduate without passing their 10th grade MCAS.

Rodrigues said the state didn’t know if the new Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona, would allow the assessments to be waived this year. 

“That did not happen,” he told the School Committee. “Our waiver did not come through. The public will know, this is not something the state has a whole lot of autonomy on.”

Indeed, this isn’t something the state and Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education can alone decide. 

“If the state decides to do it on their own, I’m sure the federal [government] will stop funding,” Rodrigues said. 

Though the state is administering the tests, accountability and penalization measures based on their results have been waived, Rodrigues said.

Remote testing raises questions

Rodrigues said there was also a gray area for how tests will be administered remotely. 

During the School Committee meeting, Rodrigues laid out Hudson’s plans for testing, including remote testing for third through eighth graders. Remote testing is not an option for 10th graders.

Students who take their MCAS remotely will not be able to turn off their video during the test or leave the room where they are taking it without permission from their test administrator. 

The students will also be required to use their video to show the test administrator that their desk is clear prior to the test. When the test is done, and while on video with the administrator, the student will have to tear up and discard any scratch paper. 

Committee asks about student preparation

During the discussion, School Committee member Chris Yates asked what was being done to prepare the students, particularly high school students, for their MCAS. 

“I am extremely worried about the gap in learning from the three-month remote learning from last year and the hybrid throughout this year and how that’s going to affect MCAS testing and the results,” Yates said. 

Rodrigues said their efforts have been mostly concentrated on the high school’s sophomores. Those efforts included developing a schedule for test prep, which has been ongoing for the past several weeks. 

“Some of those students took their subject during first semester,” he said. “So, it’s been a little while.”

For other grades, Rodrigues said the teachers have been “resourceful” and preparing students for their tests.

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