Are Massachusetts High School Kids Giving Maximum Effort on MCAS Tests?

High schools across Massachusetts spent hours this week testing sophomores for the English Language Arts portion of the MCAS test.

Up until this school year, high school students in the Commonwealth were required to pass the test in order to fulfill their graduation requirements. That is no longer the case, as voters chose to end the requirement in last November's election.

Now that passing the MCAS test is no longer necessary for graduation, we wondered what area schools are seeing in terms of effort. Are schools still seeing maximum effort, or has effort fallen off a bit?

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Three SouthCoast Administrators Weigh In

Ryan Shea, the principal at Dartmouth High School, said he was "genuinely surprised" at the level of effort he and his staff witnessed at Dartmouth High School this week.

"It was one of our big concerns," Shea said. "We did a lot of messaging on it with our families, and we reminded the students that the John and Abigail Adams scholarships are a great incentive."

Students were also reminded that their efforts can help the school district simply by "showing what you know."

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Old Rochester Principal Mike Devol agreed with Shea's assessment.

"We were proud of our 10th graders who sat this past week for ELA MCAS testing. We promoted the value of giving their best effort and the scholarship opportunities," he said. "We also informed students that their efforts would be a reflection of our entire student body and staff. We knew that they would put forth a great representation of ORRHS."

Fairhaven Superintendent of Schools Tara Kohler reported that Fairhaven High School had "good participation" and that "initial reports were that the kids took it seriously."

Students will take the math portion of the test in May. MCAS results are typically released in the fall.