Westfield Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski discusses the state’s graduation framework at the March 2 School Committee meeting.
Photo credit: Westfield TV
WESTFIELD — With the state’s new high school graduation framework taking shape, funding for staffing and resources to complete the proposed requirements is top of mind for administrators at the local level.
Funding and workload consistently popped up as areas of uncertainty or concern as Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski briefed the School Committee on the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s graduation requirements framework and remaining unanswered questions at the committee’s March 2 meeting.
Gov. Maura Healey unveiled the initial framework, which was made necessary by a 2024 ballot question that eliminated the MCAS as a graduation requirement, in December 2025. The framework includes an end-of-course assessment, however, the state says it is not directly tied to graduation.
Czaporowski noted during the meeting that he was part of the “graduation think tank” that provided input and feedback. During his presentation, he laid out a series of framework proposals and shared with the committee some of the feedback, most of which he said he agreed with.
“There’s a lot here, some of which superintendents in our think tank felt a little better than some of the others,” Czaporowski said. “But the end-of-course assessments would not be a graduation requirement, so there’s a lot of questions around that one in particular — then why are we doing it? Why are we spending money? I know we spend $30 million-plus on MCAS right now; how much are these end-of-course assessments going to cost, and wouldn’t that money be better in the hands of the districts?”
The first framework calls for a core curriculum that aligns with the current MassCore standards as well as Massachusetts public college admissions requirements, including four years of English language arts and math, three years of lab-based science and history or social science, two years of world language, one year of arts and additional civics, personal finance, health and physical education courses.
“My only pushback would be to that is that if you have no intention of going to college, we’re having you take this college coursework, and it leaves no flexibility within your schedule. It is a tall task to meet at any career technical education school across the state in order to meet all of these. Particularly, the two years of world language becomes problematic,” he said.
He said that there needs to be more clarification from state education officials on the impacts on special populations, including those with specialized learning needs, English learners, and newcomers, among others.
Czaporowski also pointed out that increasing course and credit requirements creates additional budgetary burdens on school departments and districts that may need to add staff to accommodate.
The second framework discussed involved the end-of-course assessment, which would be designed, administered and scored by the state.
This portion of the plan has drawn criticism from the Massachusetts Teachers Association, which opposes the idea of a capstone project or other assessment as a graduation requirement. Czaporowski said the indication from the state, however, was, while the tests would “measure student mastery,” they would not be used to deny students their high school diplomas.
“Actually, in theory, the EOC is a deeper assessment of actual course content than, say, the current MCAS that we are still administering,” he said. “There hopefully would be alignment with instruction — testing what is taught rather than general grade-level knowledge.”
Czaporowski also said these assessments would create consistency for students who shift from one department or district to another.
However, the superintendent pointed out that questions remain on which courses would be subject to these end-of-course assessments and how much weight they would be given when evaluating graduation readiness. Additionally, there were concerns surrounding accessibility issues and accommodations for those with disabilities, and timing — namely, what the turnaround time would be for scoring the assessments and whether the assessments would significantly increase testing time.
Other questions involved whether a retake option would be available and what it would cost to develop.
“Again, at a time when budgets are not kind to school districts, that money would be diverted to develop this instead of going where superintendents are asking for these funds to go is a concern,” he said.
The capstone or portfolio proposal would require each student to create a “deep independent project” or a collection of work that would demonstrate their work over time. Czaporowski said that has not been decided. He noted these projects would provide students more agency to select the focus of their work.
Yet to be determined, Czaporowski said, was how these projects would be evaluated. He also noted that these types of assignments usually involve a staff mentor. He raised the question as to whether his and other school departments had the resources to adequately provide them. There were also questions related to the cost and time requirements associated with the proposal.
The framework also maps out a requirement for students to develop and maintain an individual and academic plan, also known as MyCAP. Czaporowski said his department was already implementing it. This is because the state already requires it for middle and high schools engaged in programs such as CTE, innovation pathways and work-based learning programs. The difference in the new framework is, it would be required for all students, not just those in these or similar programs.
“It’s kind of a plan that puts you on track,” he said. “If you want to go to college, this is what you have to do. If you want to go into a career, these are the things you are going to need to do, and you work with your school counselor.”
Czaporowski admitted it does increase the workload for the school counselors, but also said research shows students with an active MyCAP are more likely to graduate, complete the FAFSA and enroll in college.
Staffing and resources to train and support staff again came up as a significant concern.
“While we have applied for every grant that we have, we still have staff that needs to be trained, so there are some gaps,” Czaporowski said.
Under the new framework, students would also have to complete the federal and state applications for financial aid or opt out.
Superintendents, however, felt an opt-in approach was more appropriate and that school departments and districts should not be forcing families to fill out the application. There were also privacy concerns, and the burden of supplying resources to ensure the applications are properly completed would also be absorbed locally.
Mayor Michael McCabe, in his capacity as president of the School Committee, questioned a portion of the framework that noted financial aid applications would be available to “undocumented students.” Asked to clarify, Czaporowski said a student who is an undocumented immigrant could complete at least the MASFA and be eligible for financial aid. “That is a priority of our current governor,” he said, later adding he would urge those students not to fill out the FAFSA.
During a brief, awkward exchange in which McCabe sought a definition of “undocumented,” he said, “I’m not trying to put you on the spot here. There’s a reasonable point that we’re trying to make here, and the reasonable point is it doesn’t seem the federal side and the state side aren’t on the same side.”
He later discussed concerns about funding and grant eligibility, to which Czaporowski responded, “It continues the internal conflict that’s been forced upon us over the last year.”
Czaporowski said Westfield already fulfills the requirement within the framework that involves teaching financial literacy skills.
Finally, there is an optional state-designated seal of distinction, which the superintendent said the School Department already awards in the world language department. However, he said superintendents were confused by its inclusion in the graduation framework.
“But why is this part of the graduation requirements? We don’t think it belongs here if it’s optional,” he said. “It would be nice if the students got this seal on their diplomas, but who decides what it is? What are the criteria? Is there equal access? Is this a graduation requirement — is that why it was included, that every student has to have a seal? These are questions that we have. And if you get a seal, what do you get for it other than a stamp on your diploma?”
Czaporowski suggested that, for example, a seal for world language in Spanish could result in that student not having to take an introductory-level Spanish course in college, which would represent a reward in the saving of time and money.
The superintendent said there was a survey through which they would garner additional feedback. He noted that he had previously shared the survey with the committee and would be sharing more broadly via the department’s website and would also be sending it out.
“We also don’t know when these are going to be finalized, but I’m guessing that the survey will help guide future implementation, so I would encourage you to please take it,” he said.
