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Easton committee weighs approach after state reclassifies MCAS as a competency determination
Summary
School leaders told the Easton School Committee on Jan. 9 that the statehas reclassified MCAS as a competency determination and districts must decide locally how to assess students who have not yet passed. The committee directed staff to fast-track an interim process for the Class of 2025 while policy work continues.
Dr. Cabral, the district superintendent, told the Easton School Committee on Jan. 9 that the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has recharacterized MCAS as a —competency determination— and that districts must determine local procedures for students who have not met that standard.
"They are now charging districts on their own to determine what the competency determination is going to be," Dr. Cabral said during the committee's update on MCAS and graduation requirements.
The committee is most immediately focused on the Class of 2025, Dr. Cabral said, because a small number of seniors have not passed MCAS and there is a February retake. Results from that retake, she said, typically do not return until May, which complicates graduation planning.
District officials told the committee they are preparing two tracks of work: short-term student supports and a process to recommend a competency determination for 2025, and a longer-term policy to govern competency determination going forward. "Mrs. Cavanaugh and her team are going to put together a process to propose," Dr. Cabral said, and that proposal will first go to the policy subcommittee for vetting before returning to the full committee.
Committee members heard that the state will not issue a single recommended model. Instead, the Department will collect and share examples from districts that adopt approaches, leaving the responsibility and discretion to each school committee. Dr. Cabral described the situation as unprecedented and said regional consensus is unlikely because districts vary widely in numbers of affected students.
The superintendent also noted that the competency determination work is retroactive: students who did not meet competency in prior years may request review under any local process the committee adopts. The district will therefore try to balance timeliness for 2025 with fairness for previously affected students.
Committee members asked logistical questions about the February retake and timeline for results; administrators confirmed retake results typically return in May. The committee did not adopt a final policy at the meeting but directed staff to convene the policy subcommittee and to return with a recommended process for the Class of 2025 as soon as possible.
The topic will likely require at least one workshop or expedited subcommittee work to resolve legal and procedural questions, Dr. Cabral warned, and the district will simultaneously provide direct student supports while the policy process proceeds.
