State education board addresses MCAS ballot question, gives no plan if voters reject test requirement

A week out from the Nov. 5 election in which voters will decide whether to toss the state’s MCAS graduation requirement, Massachusetts education officials continued to refrain from giving the public any details of how they may handle the potential overhaul.

“The administration and myself personally are adamantly opposed to this question,” said Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler at a meeting Tuesday of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. “Fundamentally, it seeks to deconstruct a system that has worked now for more than two decades and is part of the success story in Massachusetts public education.”

The DESE meeting included comments from the secretary on Question 2, which would nix the MCAS standardized testing graduation requirement for Massachusetts high school students. If the question is passed, students would continue to take the test as an assessment tool, and graduation requirements would be left up to local districts.

The Board meeting’s address of the topic follows recent comments from Boston Public School stating they have received no “formal communications” from DESE on guidance and planning for if Question 2 is approved.

Tutwiler echoed his previous opposition stance to the question on Tuesday, arguing the initiative would create “wide variability in the definition of what it means to earn a diploma in Massachusetts.”

The secretary added new promises that the Healey-Driscoll administration would look at altering the controversial MCAS system if the question does not go through, but also gave no specifics on that.

“The current system is not perfect, and I would be the first to say that the Healey-Driscoll administration remains open and committed to evolving the definition of what it means to graduate from high school in Massachusetts,” said Tutwiler. “There is an appropriate, thoughtful and inclusive way to engage change process. The ballot question is not that way.”

Asked in mid-October about the state’s “plan B” if the testing requirement is overturned, Gov. Maura Healey reiterated her opposition to Question 2 and the importance of a statewide standard. She did not say whether or how her administration would pursue a statewide standard if the question is approved.

“We’re committed to working with things as they evolve and come forward,” Healey answered at the announcement event. “We’ll see how things land the ballot, of course, on Nov. 5, but our goal is to make sure that we are positioning our young people, that we’re setting them up for success.”