Today, Massachusetts Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Jeff Riley announced the state will administer MCAS this year.

MBAE strongly supports the Commissioner’s decision to move forward with MCAS and to streamline administration of it in response to pandemic-related challenges.

The pandemic has impacted all students, but’s it’s likely the greatest impacts have fallen on the most vulnerable. As we have consistently said, information from MCAS is necessary to understanding the extent to which pandemic-induced learning loss has disproportionately affected students by race, socio-economic status, and disability. Information from MCAS will be critical to parents as they work to support their children’s recovery from the pandemic. It will also help us determine resource needs for schools and districts as they work to address learning loss in the months and years to come.