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With MCAS no longer the sole path, Springfield staff begin local plan for class of 2025 competency determination
Summary
State law change removes MCAS as the required graduation test. Springfield administrators said the district must set a local competency determination for students in the class of 2025; a statewide council will issue broader guidance later in 2025.
State changes to the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) leave Springfield educators with a short-term obligation: establish a local process to determine which students in the class of 2025 have met the district's graduation competency requirements.
Doctor Yolanda Johnson, speaking for guidance from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), told the committee that although MCAS will no longer be used as the state-mandated tool for graduation competency, the law requires districts to base competency determinations on mastery of state academic standards. "Students must still demonstrate mastery," Johnson said, and districts must certify that coursework demonstrates those skills.
Johnson said an executive order from the governor establishes a K'12 statewide graduation council that will provide an interim report in December 2025, but districts cannot wait for the full statewide work. The superintendent's office must convene a multidisciplinary team immediately to determine how to award competency to students in the class of 2025 who have not yet met the state's prior MCAS thresholds.
Superintendent Doctor Donnell and district staff told the committee they will recommend policy language to the school committee and review the district's pupil-progression plan, which now references MCAS. Dr. Johnson said local requirements remain aligned with MassCore course recommendations and local credit requirements will still govern graduation, but the competency determination for ELA, mathematics and science must be redefined locally until DESE's statewide guidance is available.
Committee members expressed urgency that students and families be told what the new local pathway will be before end-of-year deadlines. Doctor Johnson said regional meetings and stakeholder input are part of the statewide council's work and that the district will bring proposals to subcommittee "very soon." The committee scheduled subcommittee work to draft a policy for consideration.
Ending: District leaders said they will prepare a district policy for subcommittee review and keep families informed; DESE-level guidance will follow in late 2025.
