“The indifference of teachers unions to student failure is endemic in many public schools systems”
Massachusetts students are currently required to take an assessment during their sophomore year and meet thresholds for proficiency in math, English and science. Students who meet the minimum requirement are cleared for graduation. Those who don’t are assigned extra help and an “educational proficiency” plan to make sure they catch up by senior year.
The point is to make sure students don’t fall through the cracks, and it works. Massachusetts ranks at the top in student achievement among states. In 2022 the state tied for first for eighth grade student achievement in reading and math on the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
Most states envy that performance, but the Massachusetts Teachers Association wants to end it. At a 2022 state Board of Education meeting, president Max Page explained the union’s thinking: “The focus on income, on college and career readiness speaks to a system tied to the capitalist class and its need for profit.”
Wow. In their hostility to measuring student achievement, the union is now hostile to upward economic mobility. What’s the goal: Keep kids on the dole all their lives?
The Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System test isn’t a barrier to success: Some 80% of black, Hispanic and economically disadvantaged children still pass it on the first try. For those who don’t, the graduation requirement commits resources to helping close the achievement gap. Students are given five chances to pass the test. Of the roughly 70,000 students in each graduating class, some 700 don’t receive a diploma because of failure on the state test.
