Moratorium On MCAS Tests Proposed By MA Lawmakers

FRAMINGHAM, MA — State lawmakers have proposed a three-year moratorium on MCAS testing due to concerns that the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted education too much.

Local state Reps. Maria Robinson, Carmine Gentile, and Jack Lewis are cosponsoring the bill, which would, among other measures, allow students to graduate without having taken MCAS tests.

"Our students need to be given the space to learn, and high stakes testing should be off the table as we determine what classrooms will look like for the next school year," Robinson said in a statement.

Apart from the three-year ban, the law would create a commission to collect data on school performance, and create a grant program to fund school districts creating their own diagnostic tests.

In April, the Legislature allowed MCAS testing to be canceled this spring due to coronavirus. The federal Department of Education also waived standardized tests across the nation due to the pandemic.

Massachusetts students are set to return to school this fall under a new plan released by state officials this week, but it's unclear what role MCAS will have as schools are modified to prevent larger coronavirus outbreaks.