exam presents an impossibly high barrier, yet more than 80 percent of 12th graders have already passed it and many more are expected to pass later this year. Further, the evidence suggests that many students who failed the test did so for simple reasons: they missed many days of school and did not attend any of the tutoring sessions that have been offered to help them clear the bar. While critics also contend that such tests will cause dropout rates to soar, a new study finds that the dropout rate for this year's senior class has decreased to a 10-year low. Meanwhile, SAT scores for Massachusetts students just hit a 10-year high. Most importantly, the state is now focusing on a group of students who have always been at risk but who were left behind in the past.
"Scores belie anti-MCAS arguments," by Scot Lehigh, The Boston Globe, February 21, 2003