Opponents, advocates every file to vary language of poll query nixing MCAS commencement requirement

Each side of the MCAS debate have made motions within the Supreme Judicial Court docket to vary the language of the proposed poll query to nix use of the standardized take a look at as a highschool commencement requirement.

The MCAS poll query, which faces ultimate certification hurdle earlier than the Nov. 5 basic election poll this 12 months, would take away the usage of the take a look at as a commencement requirement, however permit districts to proceed to manage the take a look at.

Massachusetts Lecturers Affiliation management and 64 registered voters filed a short with the courtroom on Wednesday, asking the justices to change the title and outline of the MCAS poll query they are saying “fail to capture the scope of the initiative.”

The initiative petition is presently titled, “A Law Requiring that Districts Certify that Students Have Mastered the Skills, Competencies and Knowledge of the State Standards as a Replacement for the MCAS Graduation Requirement.”

“We are asking the court to change the title and wording of the ballot question so voters are clear that all students will be educated in accordance to state academic standards and all students receiving a high school diploma have mastered a core group of skills and competencies aligned with those standards,” the MTA wrote in a press release.

The query is posed as, “A Yes Vote would eliminate the requirement that students pass the (MCAS) in order to graduate high school but will still require students to complete coursework that meets state standards.”