Interim Superintendent Maureen Binienda (left) breaks down the next steps for the district in forming its graduation competency and determination guidelines.
Photo credit: Easthampton Media
EASTHAMPTON — With voters in the state choosing to do away with MCAS requirements as it relates to high school graduation last November, the Easthampton School Committee began discussing the district’s graduation competency and determination requirements now needed.
During the Jan. 14 School Committee meeting, interim Superintendent Maureen Binienda provided an update that she and her team within the district are working on the districts Graduation Competency and Determination standards. The committee plans to have a future meeting where the public can comment on this work at that point and provide feedback as the committee will continue discussion on what the district graduation competency and determination standards will be.
“In the past with the MCAS being the way that determined if you got your high school diploma or not, it can no longer be used for that reason,” Binienda explained.
The law requires that districts certify that their students have mastered the skills, competencies and knowledge of the state standards as a replacement for the MCAS graduation requirement.
The district must do this “by satisfactorily completing coursework that has been certified by the student’s district as showing mastery of skills, competencies and knowledge contained in the sate academic standards and curriculum frameworks in the areas measured by the MCAS high school tests described in section one, administered in 2023, and in any additional areas determined by the board,” according to the law.
Binienda explained any high school student that has already passed the 10th grade ELA, mathematics or science MCAS tests, just has to focus on meeting their high school requirements.
“If they have passed the MCAS and they passed the high school graduation requirements set by the School Committee of Easthampton, then they will graduate,” Binienda explained. “Now for those students who have not passed the MCAS requirements, we now have to do what is a competency determination.”
She explained earlier that day she and her team met with district leadership at the high school and began discussions on how they will properly prove students’ competencies in order for them to receive their diplomas.
“You’ll have two things now, your graduation requirements and now your competency,” Binienda shared.
Binienda explained competency standards have to match the areas that the spring 2023 MCAS focused on which are subjects including English, algebra 1 and 2, physics, biology or environmental science.
“The work that we did today — and we’ll get this to the School Committee when complete — is for example: it will be did they pass the class? The course requirements are that we meet the state guidelines so it has to be in English 10 and most kids will be geometry and biology or physics. If they pass the class in grade 10, we will accept that they have met the competency determination of the areas,” Binienda explained.
If they have not passed the class, they must now make up the class or the district needs another option for that student to prove their competency in those subject areas, thus creating this discussion.
“For example, you have a student that passed ninth grade English, failed 10th grade English, passed 11th grade English. They have to be able to show that they were able to pass whatever those guidelines were for 10th grade English, so that’s kind of the tricky part if they didn’t,” said Binienda.
Binienda noted that this would be a district wide guideline and the School Committee can decide on either following those 2023 MCAS standards listed in the law or form their own standards.
“For the kids who don’t pass — which is a small number by the way. Today we noted there were zero 2025 graduates that had not passed. However, there were more than 11 current 11th graders that did not pass. So, for those 11th graders, they may have passed English 10 and if they did they don’t have to take the MCAS,” Binienda said. “What we have to do now is go back and look for those kids who did not pass.”
With a small number of current students who have not passed the 10th grade MCAS, the district must now determine its competency standards. The idea for the guidelines is to look at their 10th grade course curriculum in those subjects and if they pass the class this will give them the requirement for the district’s newly needed competency and determination guidelines.
“I just don’t want the public to get confused. We’re not trying to make the MCAS graduation requirement,” said committee member Sam Hunter. “We were one of the communities that voted the most against it.”
School Committee member Meghan Harvey clarified the MCAS will still be taken by students as always been done, it just is no longer required by law to be a requirement for high school graduation. Some students will still use the MCAS test results for scholarship opportunities or resume boosters.
The results will also continue to be used as a district measure by the state and used in school accountability measurements. Binienda noted there is worry among district leaders she has spoken to that with less an incentive regarding the MCAS, the state’s accountability measures may be in flux with students taking the test now with a much different motivation that prior to the law change.
“Now that the test does not have that significance for high school students for graduation, everybody is kind of worried about what is going to happen. Participation rate is part of your accountability, so we will see,” she added. “Competency and determination, MCAS was that. It is no longer that. We cannot use that.”
Binienda said with the help of district leadership they will work with guidance counselors at the high school in identifying which students may need to retake courses depending on where they are at.
“It’s just important that people know because the state can no longer by law certify competency, now we have to think of another way of doing it. Just in those classes of English, math and science and to the standards of the 2023 MCAS,” Binienda simplified.
A list of questions and answers regarding the law change and what districts need to do in response has been released by the state and was shared during the discussion. To view the full meeting and discussion on graduation competency and determination visit the Easthampton Media YouTube channel.
The committee plans to pick up these discussions, allow public comment and eventually vote on a district graduation competency and determination guidelines over the next meeting or two.
