Wu toes line on MCAS ballot question, declines to take public position

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said she's concerned about using MCAS scores as a graduation requirement, but she's not comfortable with the lack of clarity about the alternatives.

In just a few weeks, Massachusetts voters will decide whether MCAS test scores will still be used as a graduation requirement for high school students. Question 2 has ignited a spirited debate among parents, educators, and officials about the merits of standardized testing and how those scores should be used.

A recent Boston Globe/Suffolk University poll found that almost 58% of voters are in favor of eliminating the MCAS graduation requirement, while almost 37% oppose the measure. Although many have made up their minds, one prominent voter says she still has not.

“I’m torn about this ballot question,” Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said Tuesday during an appearance on GBH’s “Boston Public Radio.”

Wu specified that she would not be taking a public position on Question 2. While she is sympathetic to arguments being made against using MCAS scores as a graduation requirement, Wu said she wished there were more details in place about what would replace the requirement.

Passage of Question 2 would not eliminate the MCAS. But if it is approved, the MCAS graduation requirement would be replaced by district-specific requirements, provided they are “informed by the frameworks and standards established by the state board of education and embodied by the current MCAS test,” as stated in a summary of the question published by the Center for State Policy Analysis at Tufts University.

When changes to a law are proposed through a ballot initiative, like in this case, the specific language gets set in stone early in the process and cannot be changed after a certain point. Wu said she wished there were a way to be more flexible with the specifics of what would replace the MCAS requirement.

“There are some pieces of it that are important, and then there are some pieces that I wish potentially had a little bit more nuance or language that could be worked in through a legislative process,” Wu said on GBH.

After this year’s MCAS results were released, education officials said that the scores were “concerning” and that students are still struggling to rebound from a pandemic-era learning loss.

The mayor said that it is important to maintain high standards throughout the education system, but that she does not support tests being used in a “high-stakes way” or with a “one-size-fits-all mechanism.” There have been clear demonstrations of how the MCAS fails to properly assess some students with different types of learning needs, she said.

Still, she is skeptical about the replacement of the MCAS graduation requirement with ones set up on a district-by-district basis.

But Wu clarified that she would be voting on it in a personal capacity, despite her refusal to take a strong public stance. When told that she sounds like a “no” voter by host Jim Braude, Wu explained her thinking.

“I’m trying to separate out my role as an individual voter,” Wu said, “and when I feel strongly enough about something to fully stand behind a position and, with clarity, advocate that I believe everyone in the community should feel this way. I think with this one, there’s enough gray area that I am not taking a public position.”

Staff Writer

Ross Cristantiello, a general assignment news reporter for Boston.com since 2022, covers local politics, crime, the environment, and more.