Chicopee proposes higher credit minimum, new competency rules after state removes MCAS pass requirement

Assistant Superintendent Jennifer Belville told the Chicopee School Committee on Feb. 5 that a December change in state law ends the automatic requirement that students pass MCAS exams to receive a high school diploma and shifts responsibility to districts to certify coursework that demonstrates competency.

Belville said the district’s recommended competency determination would require students to receive passing grades in the equivalent of English I and English II and in the equivalent of Algebra I and Geometry, plus a passing grade in one high-school-level science course (biology, chemistry, physics or a technology/engineering course). "We can't require the passing of MCAS because of the law, but we want them to sit for the exam their freshman and sophomore year," Belville said.

Why it matters: The change alters how Chicopee Public Schools verifies that students meet state standards. District officials said it also affects some current seniors who previously did not receive diplomas because they had not passed MCAS and who now can seek review under the new local competency rules.

Belville told the committee the district also proposes increasing the local credit minimum for graduation from 110 to 120 credits beginning with the class of 2029 (incoming freshmen). "Many…