Welcome to the MCAS Blog!
Lou Kruger | kruger@neu.edu | childrenleftbehind.com
The purpose of this blog is for people to share information about how we can influence the state government of Massachusetts to modify its use of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) so that the use of the MCAS is consistent with promoting social justice, the research on high school exit exams, best practices in assessment, and ethical conduct in using assessment instruments.
August 3rd, 2009 at 04:07
Despite the research that shows it takes between
> 4-8 years for older students and 3-7 years for younger students to
> attain grade level proficiency in English as a second language, these
> students are sitting for subject matter exams in English in their
> first year in some districts. Even when they know the subject matter,
> eg. math, science, etc,. they can not demonstrate how much they know
> because of their language acquisition. Neither are accommodations
> monitored to ensure they are appropriate to the level of proficiency
> of the student nor if the accommodations are working. Together these
> conditions contribute to the under-representation of what these
> students know and can do.The high rate of drop out of Latino students
> merits further consideration.
> Let me know if I can help in any way to direct attention to these issues.
> Theresa Austin