Boston Public Schools to Try New Alternative to MCAS Exams

Boston Public Schools is reportedly among dozens of districts in Massachusetts set to try a new online standardized exam in place of the MCAS exams next spring, according to a report in the Boston Herald Sunday.

Instead of the MCAS exam, BPS students will instead take the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) exam, a standardized test with roots in the national Common Core standards, which are “a set of high-quality academic standards in mathematics and English language arts/literacy (ELA),” according to corestandards.org.

Moreover, the district will subsequently be exempt from intervention from the state level for low exam results, according to the Herald.

Thus far, 46 states have adopted the Common Core standards and are in the process of implementing the PARCC, according to parcconline.org, which describes the assessments as allowing “parents and educators to see how children are progressing in school and whether they are on track for postsecondary success. The PARCC assessment also provides teachers with the ability to identify students who may be falling behind and need extra help.”

For more, head over to the Boston Herald >>