The state education commissioner proposed a test that combines parts of MCAS and PARCC tests.
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Approval of the hybrid test comes after two years of debate over whether to replace MCAS with the PARCC test.
MCAS 2.0 won by a margin of 8 in favor over 3 not in favor.
It was initially believed that the state would choose between MCAS and PARCC last week but instead, Mitchell Chester, commissioner of elementary and secondary education, chose to recommend a “next-generation MCAS” exam that would use elements from both tests.
Under Chester’s recommendation, the new test is scheduled to be administered beginning in spring 2017, with schools giving the test via computer by 2019.
His thinking has evolved over the past couple of months, he said, influenced by concerns about the state maintaining control of testing.
“We need to take a hard look at how we use tests”, he said, adding that the greatest predictor of success in education is a student’s family, not their performance on tests.
Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers – is better at measuring students’ depth of critical thinking in English and math. The 2016 MCAS will include “a limited number” of PARCC items, according to the education board’s statement on the vote, “in order to help make statewide comparisons easier and to offer students and staff the opportunity to experience PARCC items while the new assessment is being developed”.
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In the meantime, local districts will have the option of continuing with PARCC or switching from MCAS to PARCC for spring 2016.
