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Patrick Tutweiler, the Admin's point person on education is "adamantly opposed" to the Q2 initiative.
Gov. Maura Healey's top education official used time during a state Board of Education meeting Tuesday to reiterate his point of view on a ballot initiative before voters this fall to decouple the MCAS exam from graduation, saying he is "personally ... adamantly opposed" to the initiative.
"Fundamentally, it seeks to deconstruct a system that has worked now for more than two decades and is part of the success story in Massachusetts public education," Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler said at the beginning of the meeting, when he usually makes remarks.
All Massachusetts high school students must pass their curriculum requirements to get a high school diploma, plus a standardized exam given in 10th grade. Question 2, backed by the state's teachers unions with support from national labor unions, would remove the requirement that students pass the test to earn the diploma, and shift power to local districts and classroom teachers to determine standards for whether a student can graduate.
"Further, it does not replace the existing system with a system, and will result in wide variability in the definition of what it means to earn a diploma in Massachusetts. This is a very concerning one, and one wherein the most vulnerable students will be hurt the most," Tutwiler said Tuesday.
Healey, Tutwiler and other administration officials had been passively opposed to the MCAS question for months, answering when asked that they did not believe in removing the requirement.
However, their tone seems to have shifted as the election has approached. Healey headlined a No on 2 press conference earlier this month alongside Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll and Attorney General Andrea Campbell, where she said Question 2 could "eliminate a tool that we know works in terms of our ability to assess how our young people are doing."
On Tuesday, Tutwiler said he wanted to use some of the time granted to him on the board's agenda "to be clear about the administration's stance on Question 2."
After saying "the administration and myself personally are adamantly opposed," to the initiative, he added, "to be clear, the current system is not perfect."
"The Healey-Driscoll administration remains open and committed to evolving the definition of what it means to graduate from high school in Massachusetts. There is an appropriate, thoughtful and inclusive way to engage in that change process. The ballot question is not that way," he said.
The Yes on 2 campaign held a press conference Tuesday morning during the board meeting.
National education labor leaders joined their voices to state union organizers who have been behind the campaign. National Education Association President Becky Pringle and American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten both spoke at the press conference.
Asked to respond to Tutwiler's comments at the board meeting, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Teachers Association — the primary financial support of Question 2 — pointed to Tuesday's press conference.
"The use of standardized exams as a graduation requirement is simply failed policy and one that we as a state need to move on from. To paraphrase today’s remarks made by National Education Association President Becky Pringle and American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, Massachusetts once again has the opportunity to be a leader in the fight for high-quality, equitable public education by passing Question 2," says a statement from MTA President Max Page and Vice President Deb McCarthy.
The statement continues, "Massachusetts public school educators are the experts, and they are telling us that they can better implement our state’s high academic standards if we remove the high stakes of the 10th grade MCAS exams. The MCAS will remain in place to provide snapshots of student and school performance on tests that cover a limited number of our school standards. But students deserve a more thorough assessment – best done by their classroom teachers -- of their class work to determine their readiness to graduate from high school."
