Assessment/Accountability
MCAS Performance Appeals

MCAS Performance Appeals: September 2004 - Present (September 19, 2005)

Overview

The MCAS Performance Appeals process was established in 2002 for the purpose of providing students who could not meet the Competency Determination standard by passing the Grade 10 MCAS English Language Arts and/or Mathematics Tests, even after several attempts, with an opportunity to present evidence indicating that they indeed possess the required knowledge and skills to meet the standard through other measures of their academic performance.

Massachusetts' public high school students in the Class of 2003 were the first graduating class required to meet the state's Competency Determination standard as a condition for high school graduation. While most of the graduates in the Classes of 2003, 2004 and 2005 met the standard by passing the tests or retests, approximately 2,500 students earned a Competency Determination through the MCAS Performance Appeals process.

The regulations governing the MCAS Performance Appeals process require that two criteria need to be satisfied in the appeal: (1) the student must first meet the four eligibility requirements; 3-test minimum participation, minimum test score of 216, minimum school attendance rate of 95% and participation in remediation. Upon establishing eligibility, the student must demonstrate academic performance equivalent to or exceeding the passing level, by comparing his or her GPAs (grade point averages) to a cohort of classmates who passed the tests, or through work samples. The regulations provide for an impartial Appeals Board, comprised of public high school educators appointed by the Commissioner, to review appeals and make recommendations to the Commissioner. The Performance Appeals Board generally meets once a month to review performance appeals. Another committee of math and English high school educators meets 3 times annually to review portfolio appeals submitted on behalf of students who do not have large enough "cohorts" of classmates with whom their GPAs can be compared.

Outreach

Since the fall of 2002, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has conducted dozens of statewide performance appeals workshops for nearly 2,000 high school educators and central office staff. Outreach efforts have also included numerous meetings with state superintendents and advocacy groups. A telephone hotline, 781-338-3333, and email address, mcasappeals@doe.mass.edu, have responded to hundreds of inquiries, and a performance appeals website, www.doe.mass.edu/mcasappeals/, provides educators, students and parents with up-to-date advisories and filing tips along with general information about the appeals process.

Summary of Performance Appeals Activity for the 2004-2005 School Year

This summary reflects data on MCAS performance appeals submitted and reviewed between September 1, 2004 and September 1, 2005, for students in the Class of 2005 and for those in the Classes of 2004 and 2003 who have not yet received their diplomas.

• In the 2005 school year, a total of 1,042 appeals were submitted, and 698 (67%) were granted. For the same period in 2004, nearly 2,000 appeals were submitted and 79% were granted.

• 49% of all appeals submitted were for students with disabilities; 46% of those appeals were granted. These figures include 151 portfolio appeals.

• Of 382 English language arts appeals submitted, 282 (74%) were granted. Of 660 mathematics appeals submitted, 416 (63%) were granted.

Overall, since 2002, more than 5000 appeals have been submitted and nearly 70 % have been granted. Approximately 80% of all appeals are in the area of mathematics.

For the 2005 school year, I received a total of 322 requests to waive one or more of the eligibility requirements. Given justification by the superintendent, I approved majority of them as follows.

• 31 of 50 requests to waive the 3-test minimum participation
• 247 of 265 requests to waive the 95% school attendance rule
• All 3 requests to waive participation in remediation
• None of the 4 requests to waive the 216 minimum test score requirement was approved.

Additionally, Massachusetts law provides for added flexibility in eligibility for students with disabilities. Specifically, disabled students do not need to meet the 216 MCAS test minimum requirement to have an appeal filed. For 2005, 43 appeals were filed for disabled students whose high scores fell below 216, and I granted about 15 of them because the appeal demonstrated evidence that the student met the academic standard equivalent to the passing score.