Superintendent: state change to MCAS graduation rule forces Northbridge to adopt local competency determination

Superintendent Melissa McKinstry told the School Committee that a change in state law removed MCAS as the sole way to certify a high-school competency determination (CD), placing responsibility on districts to certify that graduating students have mastered state standards.

The superintendent said the new statute replaces the prior MCAS-specific language with a requirement that competency be shown by “satisfactorily completing coursework that has been certified by the student's district as showing mastery of the skills, competencies, and knowledge” in the state standards. “We have to physically certify and promise to DESE that every student that is meeting the CD requirement here in Northbridge has mastered these standards,” McKinstry said.

Why it matters: the change affects students in the current senior class who had not passed MCAS by the November cutoff; the district reported five such seniors. The district must establish a local process for awarding the competency determination before those students graduate.

What the superintendent said: McKinstry explained that competency determination and graduation requirements are distinct. Northbridge’s current graduation requirements (the district’s program-of-studies) require roughly 20 credits across English, math, science, social studies, health/wellness and electives; the district currently uses a 60% minimum passing grade for course credit. The new CD statute requires the district to define and certify “mastery” for the standards areas previously measured by MCAS.

McKinstry emphasized that the statute does not remove MCAS test administration; participation in MCAS remains required by state and federal rules and the district must still administer the tests. She warned that if many students or families decline to participate, district participation rates and aggregated achievement data used for state accountability would fall.

She proposed a two-step approach: a temporary, narrower local CD process for affected current seniors to avoid inequitable last-minute hurdles, followed by a more robust and publicly vetted certification framework before next school year. She said the district will likely add policy IKF (graduation requirements/competency determination) to the policy manual and make any new process publicly available and translated as needed.

Committee discussion: members asked about definitions of “mastery,” the district’s authority to retain MCAS as a graduation condition (it can do so, McKinstry said, but that may prompt pushback), and whether students can still pursue MCAS-based scholarships and seals of biliteracy. McKinstry said those state-level recognitions remain possible and that the district will strongly encourage participation in MCAS as the tests remain informative for students and for district accountability.

Next steps: the superintendent said she will work with high school leadership, guidance and teachers to draft a temporary process for the current year and a fuller long-term policy for the committee’s review. She expected additional guidance from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and the state board of education but told the committee the district cannot delay preparing a local process for current seniors.

Ending: McKinstry asked for committee support to move quickly, noting the statutory change requires an administrative and communication effort before the end of the school year.