Assessments

December 17, 2010

12th Grade NAEP Information Targets Business Community

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as The Nation’s Report Card, was created by Congress to provide the public with information about the achievement of students at grades 4, 8, and 12 in core academic subjects, including […]
April 12, 2011

What’s Next for the Common Core? A Look at Assessments

This morning, the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education and The Rennie Center for Education Research and Policy, held the second in a series of three forums to examine the implementation of the Common Core State Standards in Massachusetts.  At our […]
October 16, 2011

Are Our Nation’s 12th Graders Prepared for College and Job Training?

Regional Symposium in Boston on October 24 to Look at NAEP and 12th Grade Academic Preparedness  Our nation is at a crossroads. A well-educated, highly trained citizenry is essential to maintain our democratic way of life and compete in the world marketplace. Postsecondary […]
April 23, 2012

How A First Year Teacher Uses Data to Drive Instruction

This post is part of series by Teach for America corps members teaching in Massachusetts schools. In my first year of teaching, I have found nothing quite as influential to my practice as using data to drive instruction. Collecting student […]
August 12, 2013

AP Opportunities Reveal Participation Gaps

Participation in Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) programs has increased significantly over the past decade, but participation data indicates that not all qualified students are benefiting from AP programs.  Students can earn college credit if they score strongly […]
March 24, 2014

The New Opportunity to Lead

In the Constitution adopted in 1780 and in force today, the people of Massachusetts recognized that the “opportunities and advantages of education” were “necessary for the preservation of their rights had liberties,” and directed the representatives of the people to […]
May 19, 2014

Prepared for College? Massachusetts 12th Grade NAEP Results

There is a new measure from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tying 12th grade results to college preparedness.  In 2009, for the first time, NAEP reported state results for 12th Graders from 11 volunteer pilot states including Massachusetts, […]
July 14, 2014

New Standards Require a New Assessment

The early deadline for districts’ to choose giving the PARCC test or the now 17-year-old MCAS exam next school year has passed. As of June 30th, 297 districts have made a binding decision of which assessment to administer next spring […]
November 12, 2015

Time to Move to PARCC

The Mass Board of Elementary and Secondary Education will make a major decision regarding standardized testing for the Commonwealth next Tuesday, November 17th. Massachusetts led standards-based education reform twenty years ago by establishing the highest set of education standards in the […]
December 17, 2015

New Responsibilities and Opportunities

In this issue:  State education policy grows more important | MCAS 2.0 and a new resource for parents | Looking ahead As 2015 comes to a close, we want to thank you – our readers, supporters, partners and friends – […]
February 24, 2016

Workforce Challenges

In this issue:  Public Comment on Draft Digital Literacy and Computer Science Standards | MCAS 2.0 – Stakeholder Input | Financial Literacy Summit A recent Boston Globe story underscores the critical need for reinvention of our K-12 education system. Baby […]
October 20, 2016

“The missing piece of education reform”

In this guest article featured in the most recent issue of Commonwealth Magazine, Ed Moscovitch, chairman and co-founder of the Bay State Reading Institute, presents a detailed discussion of a “key finding about superintendents and principals” and its “enormous implications […]
October 27, 2016

“Why Massachusetts schools beat Rhode Island”

This article from the Providence Journal, comparing the differences between Massachusetts’s and Rhode Island’s education reforms, makes reference to the early work of the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education under Jack Rennie’s vision and leadership. It also states that “test […]
May 26, 2017

Biz Groups Take Action

In this issue:  Business Groups Take Action on Senate Budget Amendments | MBAE Celebrates and Thanks Former and Outgoing Board Members | Other Items of Interest As MBAE’s Affiliate Network and partners mobilized this week to ensure that EVERY student […]
June 22, 2017

Fair Share and Education Funding

In this issue:  School Funding Debate Underway on Beacon Hill | Other Items of Interest A Massachusetts Biotechnology Education Foundation job trends report released this month finds that the industry will need to fill 11,600 additional jobs by 2022.  Biotech-related […]
September 12, 2017

Biz groups unite to oppose rollback of ed reforms

MBAE and its 22 Business Affiliates, along with Associated Industries of Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation and the Massachusetts Business Roundtable issued a statement today opposing bills that would place a three-year moratorium on statewide standardized testing and gut the […]
October 11, 2017

Prep Students for Success; MBAE Adds Board Members

In this issue: Preparing Students for Success | Business Groups Oppose Testing Moratorium, Rollback of Education Reforms | MBAE Elects Four New Board Members | In the News In meetings and at forums over the past several months, the consistent […]
November 20, 2017

MBAE’s Take on Transition in Lawrence; New MCAS Results

In this issue: MBAE’s Take on the Transition in Lawrence | MCAS Scores May Signify We’re on the Right Track | Members in Action: IBM’s Free Math Tool for Teachers | In the News A new analysis from the D.C.-based […]
February 18, 2020

Massachusetts Considers Changes to the High School Graduation Standard

MBAE’s Ed Lambert is serving on the advisory committee that will assist Commissioner Riley in developing his recommendations to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education regarding what level of achievement students will need to demonstrate on the next-generation high […]
January 5, 2021

Decision to move forward with MCAS this year is the right one

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. […]