Dive Brief:
- Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester is recommending that the state "adopt a hybrid version of the MCAS test rather than replace it entirely with the new PARCC test," the Boston Globe reports.
- Chester praised both the 18-year-old MCAS as well as the modern PARCC, saying that a blended model called "MCAS 2.0" would best serve students.
- His proposal would also call for collaboration on content, duration and logistics between K-12 and higher education faculty and testing experts to advise the the education department. If adopted, MCAS 2.0 would go into use as of 2017.
Dive Insight:
Many states have scrapped PARCC tests altogether, like Ohio and Arkansas. Massachusetts has been considering scrapping the test for months now, with a group End Common Core launching "a ballot initiative to put an end to the state standards and associated tests."
Across the United States, PARCC may be at a "tipping point" as more states leave the consortium.