The Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, more commonly known as MCAS, ELA (English Language Arts) testing will be held on March 28 and 29 for grade 5 students.
The MCAS is designed to meet the requirements of the Education Reform Law of 1993. This law specifies that the testing program must
- test all public school students in Massachusetts, including students with disabilities and limited English proficient students;
- measure performance based on the Massachusetts Curriculum Framework learning standards;
- report on the performance of individual students, schools, and districts.
In addition, the MCAS program is used to hold schools and districts accountable, on a yearly basis, for the progress they have made toward the objective of the No Child Left Behind Law that all students be proficient in Reading and Mathematics by 2014.
