Study Urges New K–12 Accountability Framework Following End of MCAS Graduation Requirement
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Calls for choices of high school pathways, early and end-of-course exams, and independent district accountability
BOSTON, MA, UNITED STATES, February 5, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- A new study from Pioneer Institute examines Massachusetts’ transition away from a centralized, test-based K–12 accountability system following the 2024 ballot initiative that eliminated the MCAS graduation requirement. The study reviews the interim report from the Massachusetts K–12 Statewide Graduation Council and identifies additional recommendations needed to support student learning and hold school districts accountable for results.
“Most advanced countries administer high-stakes tests at more than one academic level and administer different tests depending on the pathway a student is pursuing,” said Dr. Richard Phelps, author of “Post-MCAS Assessments and Accountability in Massachusetts"
Dr. Phelps calls for an accountability system that includes a choice of pathways students can pursue in high school, standardized state exams with meaningful consequences for students, and the reinstatement of the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability (EQA), an independent office that conducted comprehensive school district audits before being eliminated in 2008.
Potential high school pathways include one for high-achieving students that emphasizes early college credit, Advanced Placement coursework, and International Baccalaureate programs, alongside a wide range of vocational technical programs aligned with workforce needs.
In the absence of differentiated pathways, the study warns, a single statewide standard must remain low to avoid politically unacceptable failure rates—undermining the maintenance of academic rigor.
Lower standards come with a price. In 2013, a task force headed by then-Higher Education Commissioner Richard Freedland found that 60 percent of community college students, 22 percent of state university students, and 10 percent of UMass students were required to take at least one remedial course.
Dr. Phelps also recommends that the Commonwealth require that students pass either end-of-course (EOC) exams in core subject areas or a certain number of EOCs from a state menu. A foundational study by John Bishop found that states using EOC exams saw larger gains on National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) testing than states that did not.
The report places particular emphasis on early-grade accountability, recommending a second- or third-grade reading assessment, a fourth- or fifth-grade math assessment, and a full battery exam in eighth grade to inform high school pathway decisions.
“If curriculum isn’t tested, it’s hard to know if any of it works,” said Jamie Gass, the director of Pioneer Education. “We wouldn’t know about the reading gains being achieved in Mississippi and Louisiana without standardized testing.”
In addition to student-level measures, the study calls for the reinstatement of an independent school district accountability office.
“EQA should be reestablished because it worked,” Phelps said. “Massachusetts witnessed a steady increase in MCAS performance when it was in place, rising to first in the nation on all four NAEP exams.”
He adds that, unlike the entity that replaced EQA, which is within the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the office must be independent of the state education bureaucracy to remain credible and effective.
The study also reviews the interim report issued in November 2025 by the Massachusetts K-12 Statewide Graduation Council, which called for statewide EOCs, local portfolio reviews, and capstone projects. The Council’s final report is expected this June.
When the late journalist Robert Holland reviewed the scholarly literature evaluating Kentucky and Vermont’s experiences with portfolio assessments, he found that they were unsuccessful as school accountability tools, noting “The question is why anyone sincerely interested in holding schools accountable for results would want to revive such a failed method of assessment.”
“We urge the Graduation Council to build on the interim report’s strongest ideas and abandon portfolio assessments,” said Pioneer Institute Executive Director Jim Stergios. “With accountability moving to the districts after the 2024 ballot, the state must reinstate an independent district accountability office with real authority.”
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Amie OHearn
Pioneer Institute
aohearn@pioneerinstitute.org
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