SPRINGFIELD — Former Springfield Public Schools students who were unable to receive a diploma because of a failure to meet MCAS requirements may now have a chance to obtain one.
On May 27, Springfield Public Schools announced that they are accepting diploma requests “from former students who graduated from the district with a Certificate of Attainment instead of a diploma because they failed to meet one or more of the MCAS graduation requirements in place at the time they completed high school.”
According to the School Department, students from the classes of 2003 through 2024 are now eligible to receive a diploma if they received passing grades in English 9 and 10; Algebra 1 or II and Geometry; and one of the three laboratory core science classes such as biology, chemistry or introductory physics.
“These requirements are in addition to having met all the other local graduation criteria at that time per the Pupil Progression Plan of the Springfield Public Schools,” according to SPS.
The announcement comes several weeks after the School Committee approved a competency determination policy for its 2025 graduating seniors.
The policy included updated competency determination requirements for the graduating classes of 2003 through 2024. In a March presentation to the School Committee, SPS Chief of Special Education and Related Services Marisa McCarthy said that students who graduated in those years, but did not meet MCAS requirements, and therefore did not receive an official diploma, would eventually be able see if they are eligible for a diploma.
School Committee member LaTonia Monroe Naylor clarified that this initiative would not address those who dropped out of high school; only the former students who graduated but did not receive a diploma because they failed to pass the standardized test.
“It’s [for] folks who did graduate, who did complete their credits, but they were not able to pass the MCAS, and therefore, they can come back at this time during these application periods to then submit a request to be able to have an official diploma,” Monroe Naylor said. “Which is really huge and gets a lot of doors open for them that they haven’t been able to have access to.”
Conversations about these new competency determinations comes several months after the majority of Massachusetts voters chose to end MCAS as a graduation requirement and replace it with district-set coursework.
According to the state, students in grades 3-10 will still be required to take the MCAS test, and the test will continue to be used for district accountability, seal of biliteracy and state scholarships; however, passing is no longer required to receive a diploma.
During the March 27 School Committee meeting, McCarthy said she expects the Massachusetts K-12 Statewide Graduation Council will have updated guidance around competency determination and graduation requirements by the end of this year. According to the state website, the council — which includes a broad range of stakeholders in the education realm — was established in January by Gov. Maura Healey to make recommendations to school districts across the state about graduation requirements.
Former Springfield students who graduated from 2003 through 2024 can apply to see if they are eligible for a diploma by following this link: tinyurl.com/2s4h7y6k.
Meanwhile, the new competency determination requirements for Springfield’s class of 2025 are available on the website: tinyurl.com/5ypjuw6z.
