The MCAS: An Imperfect but Important Tool

It’s MCAS season, and I’d like to use this post to remind the community that despite the imperfections of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, it remains an important tool for Needham educators to help us understand learning strengths and needs and to lift all students.

First, let me acknowledge that this test has its problems. For example, it only assesses a student at a particular point in time, and if that student is not at their best on that day, the scores will reflect that. The MCAS also consumes a significant amount of time and takes teachers away from providing additional instruction and programming that otherwise would benefit students.  Further, the test prompts anxiety and stress among some students which undoubtedly impacts their performance. Finally, the results are not immediately available to use to assist a student who may have a specific skill deficit.  

However, the MCAS is an important assessment that provides information and data that helps shape programming and holds schools accountable for moving student learning forward:

The results of the test can help teachers identify areas of strength and weakness for individual students or grade levels.  Additional supports can be made available for students and instructional programs adjusted.

Key skills and content in reading, writing, math, and science are assessed which requires that all students, regardless of school or zip code, are receiving consistent curriculum and experiences as they progress through their educational career.

The MCAS is a standardized benchmark which allows Massachusetts families and students to compare performance across the state and learn what additional support may be necessary.

The assessment is the only one that allows educators to break down data among various subgroups (English Language Learners, special education, low income, and students of color) within their districts and across the Commonwealth to see how we are addressing wide educational disparities and gaps.

Over time, educators can use the results to see trends and to assess whether certain programs and instructional techniques are effective.

As a high school graduation requirement, the MCAS assesses basic skills necessary for students to be successful beyond the 12th grade in whatever they choose to do.

Yes, the MCAS is imperfect and imprecise. But rest assured that in the Needham Public Schools, MCAS results are used to target assistance, provide data to understand trends, and to discuss and plan program improvement.  While we continue to explore a comprehensive and authentic student performance portfolio based on the competencies embedded in the Portrait of a Needham Graduate, the MCAS complements the work of our outstanding teachers and is viewed as one of the important tools - but not the only tool - we use to strengthen our school programs and ensure all students are growing and learning.

To learn more about our most recent MCAS results and how we use them: MCAS 2023

Don't Forget to Thank the Mentors in Your Life

Do you ever stop to think about the people in your life who have provided guidance, inspiration, and have positively influenced your career?  

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the mentors I’ve been privileged to know and who have impacted me in different but profound ways.  They have encouraged me, given me confidence, and provided honest and needed feedback. There are so many people I have admired and who over my 43 year career have made time for me both as a teacher and a school leader: Julie Behrens, a patient and caring English teacher who took me under her wing my first year of teaching… Frank Gavel, a crusty former Marine and school administrator who kept me afloat through my first couple of years as an assistant principal… and Kate Fitzpatrick, Needham’s Town Manager whom I continue to rely on for advice, guidance, and often just to vent.

Other mentors have also played a significant role in shaping my trajectory as an educator and leader:

• Fr. Paul Harman is a Jesuit and was one of my professors at Holy Cross College where he was the first to encourage me to consider teaching.  He believed I had the kind of energy and a belief in young people that are core to a successful educator.  He helped connect me to my first teaching position in Los Angeles, and he has continued to follow my career as superintendent and has encouraged me in a role that I never thought I’d have when I was a junior in his educational philosophy course all those years ago.

• Fr. Thomas (“TJ”) James hired me for my first teaching job and coached me through some very challenging and difficult times at Verbum Dei High School.  TJ often came into my classroom after school with a smoldering cigarette dangling from his mouth (this was 1981!) and listen to my complaints about my students’ behavior or missing homework.  One day, through a smoky haze and as he quietly stared out the window, he explained that each of my students had a story to tell and it was my job to learn their stories so that I could best serve them. “Don’t pity them because they have challenging lives and circumstances; but know them for who they are and use that knowledge to secure their respect and empower their success.”

• Dr. Anthony Bent offered me the principalship at Shrewsbury (MA) High School even though there were outstanding and more qualified administrators from Shrewsbury who also desired the role. Throughout our time together he reminded me that personnel was “Job #1” before anything else.  I learned from him that an organization flourishes or fails due to the quality, experience, and dedication of the human beings who are leading the learning both in the classroom and front office.  The curriculum is important, he’d say, but the adult who delivers that lesson to the child has a greater impact and influence than any textbook or syllabus.

• Dr. Irwin Blumer chaired and guided my dissertation to success at Boston College in 2003. Dr. Blumer, a former and widely respected superintendent, was a no nonsense professor who had little time for whining about the difficulties of managing home, family, school, and graduate level work.  “You signed up for this, didn’t you?” he’d ask. Behind his sometimes brusque and frank demeanor was a man of incredible integrity who cared deeply about social justice and the need to elevate those who have been traditionally marginalized in the school setting, including students of color.  

Fr. Harman, Dr. Bent, and Dr. Blumer have all stepped back from their careers but continue to mentor and guide others.  They continue to lead lives of honor, principle, and strong character. I am indebted to each one of them and grateful for their mentorship.

Fr. James, TJ, died in the fall of 2022. Shortly before he passed away I had called him in Louisiana where he had retired to say hello and to express my gratitude for his patience and wise counsel all those years ago in California. On the phone his gravelly voice brought back memories of my many conversations with him, and we laughed together about the good, and sometimes hard, times he helped me through. Before we hung up and I thanked him one more time, he simply said, “Pass it on, Gutekanst.”

There is no time like now to connect with your mentors and thank them for all they have done for you.  For me, well I am going to work hard to take up TJ’s challenge.

Fr. Thomas James, SVD
Principal of Verbum Dei High School
Los Angeles, California
1980-86

 

Resolutions for a New Year!

 Here are my top five New Year’s resolutions for 2024:

• Increase parent and community awareness about district programs and academic excellence. Share additional examples of how the Portrait of a Needham Graduate competencies are coming alive in the classroom for all students; provide more opportunities for all students to access advanced coursework and participate in interdisciplinary learning, like 9IP; highlight and celebrate student excellence in the NPS.

• Double down on efforts to ensure equity and inclusion are the foundation upon which all of our work is designed and built.  Use the REAL Coalition to: encourage more student voice; provide training around restorative practices that are an alternative to traditional discipline;  continue to recruit, hire, and retain a dynamic, talented, and diverse staff; create policies and programs that support all learners and ensure that older students from all backgrounds and faiths have thoughtful and challenging discussions around race, bias, war, and conflict without feeling ostracized or marginalized.

• Share district efforts to promote social and emotional learning.  Discuss the development of a framework to support all students’ social and emotional wellbeing and mental health; provide additional parent and student school counseling information and updates.

• Ask Needham Town Meeting to fund a feasibility study to renovate and expand Pollard.  Using the School Master Plan for context and background, explain to the community that the Massachusetts School Building Authority has invited Needham into the pipeline to discuss a possible renovation and expansion of Pollard into a 6-8 middle school. In advance of the May ‘24 Town Meeting provide sufficient information to Town Meeting Members so they may make an informed decision to fund the feasibility study recommended by the Town Manager in the Fiscal Year 2025 Capital Improvement Plan.

• Stay healthy! In order to tackle these resolutions and balance that important work with family and health, I have to stay true to my fitness schedule, eat right, put the phone down, and make sure my wife and I head out for weekend winter walks and hikes on local trails. Not sure who told me this, but it makes sense: “Do something that is good for you so that, in turn, you can do good for others.”

Happy 2024!