EVT EVE ER T Vol. 34, No.6 -FREET www.advocatenews.net Your Local News & Sports Online! Scan & Subscribe! ADDOCCO TEAT “I love Everett football…” Free Every Friday 617-387-2200 Everett welcomes back native son Rob DiLoreto as its head football coach after two-year hiatus By Neil Zolot he School Committee approved competency stanEverett Mayor Carlo DeMaria and Everett Superintendent of Schools Bill Hart with EHS Football Head Coach Rob DiLoreto. DILORETO | SEE PAGE 10 F. J. LaRovere Insurance Agency, Inc. 492 Broadway Everett, MA 02149 617-387-9700 phone 617-387-9702 fax INSURANCE FOR AUTO, HOME, AND BUSINESS We offer very competitive rates, and by representing many different companies we can shop for the best price for our customers. Call us today! Open Monday – Friday 9am-5pm and Saturdays 9am-12pm Messinger Insurance Agency 475 Broadway Everett, MA 02149 617-387-2700 phone 617-387-7753 fax dards for graduation for the Class of 2025 and all future graduating classes at their meeting on Monday, January 21. “The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) shifted the requirements to local districts for what a student will be required to complete to receive a High School diploma, in lieu of the state Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) test formerly required,” Superintendent William Hart said in reference to voter approval of a November 2024 ballot question eliminating MCAS as a requirement for graduation. In 2024, Everett voters followed state trends and approved eliminating it as a graduation requirement by a vote of 7,339 to 4,479. Both the School Committee and City Council had voiced their approval for eliminating MCAS as a graduation requirement earlier that fall. “In the past students met competency standards by passing MCAS. Changes happened because of the referendum,” Assistant Superintendent for Teaching, Learning and Student Success Dr. Margaret Adams added in her explanation of the plan for the members. “It places responsibility for competency with the district. The district now has that responsibility and must certify meeting competency standards by satisfactorily completing coursework that would have been measured by MCAS. Competency can be achieved by satisfactorily completing courseFriday, February 7, 2025 School Committee approves competency standards for graduation in lieu of MCAS T work that has been created by a student’s district as showing mastery of state academic standards as measured by MCAS.” In other words, Everett and other school districts will use the same areas covered in MCAS to determine competency and mastery of skills, but not requiring passage of MCAS to graduate High School, although some districts may. “MCAS has not been as equitable as we’d like; some people don’t do well in standardized tests,” Hart said. “This is returning to the basics of students being profi cient in the subject areas in which they have been taught.” Regardless, MCAS will still be taken by students and used for data, just not as a requirement for graduation. Data will still be used locally to determine curriculum updates, instructional approaches, student placement and interventions and supports. “There is a requirement we have accountability testing at various grades, so MCAS will still be used as a measure to determine if students are reaching profi ciency,” Adams explained. “High School students will still be required to take MCAS as a measure, but not as a graduation requirement. Federal legislation says we have to have an exam that measures accountability and MCAS is how Massachusetts determines accountability” – 95% participation is a federal requirement and there is no “opt out,” but accommodations will remain for eligible students. Passing grades must be achieved in Algebra 1 and GeMCAS | SEE PAGE 7
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