Massachusetts Abandons State Control of Education Standards

Wednesday, the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education unanimously approved adopting the Common Core standards abandoning state control of education standards and testing.

While the press has generally ignored the consequences of this action focusing on the dollars that Massachusetts will get for submitting to the bribe, others are concerned with the effect of lowering the standards in Massachusetts. While celebrating gaining the bribes, little has been said about the costs involved with leaving the Massachusetts state standards behind. Every time Massachusetts changes its own standards, schools complain about the costs involved with updating curriculum. Often books and other materials cannot be changed across levels when topics move across grade levels. A book used to teach sixth graders is not going to be age or reading level appropriate for fourth graders and a first grade book, lacks depth for third graders. This requires districts to buy new curriculum. However, states knowing about budget issues can control when curriculum changes. When planning curriculum changes, the DOE can choose to delay implementing changes when the economy does not make changes realistic.

Now in the middle of a very bad economy, the state trades control of its standards for bribes that will not cover these curriculum changes. The bribes are a short-term cover for budget shortfalls. The next time the federal government decides to play with the core curriculum, there is no guarantee that the state will receive any money for curriculum updates.

Massachusetts has a harder curriculum than the core curriculum standards the federal government wants us to adopt. Our testing standards are also higher than those the federal government would like us to adopt. The current attitude developed from Race to the Top is why work harder if we can get more federal money doing less? Well if it were just about money, that might be a sad, but understandable attitude. However, we should be working to improve our curriculum, not making it worse. We want our children getting a better education, not decreasing their opportunities so that we are equal with what children across the country are getting. Why not reach to bring individual state standards up, not force states who have improved their education standards to decrease them to make all educational programs equally bad.

The way to improve education is not to decrease standards and to surrender state control of education to the federal government. When the federal government’s solution to improving education is to lower education standards, it is obvious something is wrong. We need to retain control of our state’s educational system.

Current MA Math Standards

Current MA English Language Arts Standards

MA History and Social Studies Standards Current

MA Science and Technology Standards Current

Federal Common Core Standards







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Massachusetts Moves to Regionalize Testing

The announcement that Massachusetts wants to stop using the MCAS and move to a regionalized testing system, is prompting all the wrong arguments. Supporters of the current MCAS testing system argue that this is being done to support Unions and others who have long fought the testing system. Teachers argue this is going to create another level of issues in standardizing curriculum and teaching programs to match the demands of a new testing program.

The issue that lies behind this is a move by the federal government to gain control of local education by offering states bribes to do it the federal government’s way. Massachusetts currently sets the goals and curriculum standards for MCAS. Like it or hate it the standards are locally controlled. When we move to regionalize those standards to reach testing criteria acceptable to a regional system, we are now controlled, not at a state level, but by a regional board. By accepting a federal bribe, we have ceded more local control of education to the federal government. Once surrendered, this control will not be easily regained.

Those who like or hate MCAS should not support regionalization of our state education system. There are always ways to reform education locally and those discussions must be active locally. Once we cede control of our system in return for federal dollars, we sacrifice that option and all our freedoms that we value in local control of education.

Be clear, changing MCAS is not about testing, it is about state control of public education. Retaining that right is important. Those who wish to reform or abolish MCAS can definitely continue those discussions within the confines of state control. However, ceding control to a federal authority will only achieve minor financial gains. The misguided attempt to score wins against political opponents in current debates about this issue will have long lasting educational consequences. Massachusetts must retain local state control of education. Reforming, changing, or maintaining MCAS is an issue that must be resolved within our state borders and without federal interference. Once we retain the ability for Massachusetts to control its educational system, the political arguments over the benefits or dangers of MCAS or another system can continue unabated. While the federal government is attempting to take control of our system, we must put these arguments aside and both sides must agree that Massachusetts should control the state education system, not the federal government. All other arguments can wait for another day. No matter how tempting we must walk away from federal bribes to surrender our educational freedom. Once our state’s educational rights are secure, we can continue debating the merits of testing.






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