Massachusetts Education Reform Act co-author and former Senate President Tom Birmingham praised the historic success that has been achieved since the law was enacted in 1993, but expressed concern that the Commonwealth is veering away from basic principles of the law that produced that success.
With New MCAS-PARCC Hybrid Half of Massachusetts Students Fall Short
Several years after Common Core implementation only half of Massachusetts students are proficient after taking the new MCAS-PARCC hybrid assessment.
Rhode Island Introduces a New Assessment
In April, Rhode Island decided to dump PARCC. They partnered with Massachusetts to develop their new assessment to be administered in May.
Rhode Island Rejects PARCC for PARCC Hybrid
The Rhode Island Department of Education decided to abandon PARCC for Massachusetts hybrid MCAS-PARCC Assessment and the SAT.
Massachusetts Common Core Ballot Initiative Stopped in Court
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled on Friday that the language in the Common Core ballot initiative is unconstitutional.
Fordham Institutes’s PARCC v. MCAS Report Falls Short
Fordham Institute’s report on PARCC v. MCAS reads more like propaganda and lacks the basic elements of objective research.
Using Two Assessments Could Cost Massachusetts Some Title 1 Funding
Playing the Grinch on Christmas week the U.S. Department of Education warned that Massachusetts could lose some Title 1 funding for using two assessments this spring.
Massachusetts Education Commissioner Recommends MCAS-PARCC Hybrid
Massachusetts Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester announced that he is recommending Massachusetts use a “Next Generation MCAS” a MCAS-PARCC hybrid.
Study: MCAS Less Expensive, More Rigorous and Provides Better Information than PARCC
Pioneer Institute: Updating MCAS would result in lower costs and more rigorous assessments that would provide better information about student performance.
Study Shows PARCC Does Not Gauge Readiness Better Than MCAS
PARCC has been plugged as being able to gauge readiness better than Massachusetts current assessment – MCAS. A new study shows that is not the case.