RESOLUTION PASSED BY THE ARLINGTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE

The Arlington School Committee supports the goals of education reform:
● Sufficient funding
● High academic standards
● High standard and equitable funding for every child - no matter in which community they live.

Now one year before the implementation of "high stakes" testing, it is apparent that we have fallen short of our goals.

Before we hold the students accountable, we must hold the adults accountable:
● For finalizing the frameworks so that teachers and students know what is expected.
● For testing students only after giving them ample time during their school careers to acquire the skills and knowledge required by the frameworks.
● For designing test questions that truly measure the depth and breadth of students' knowledge.
● For designing tests that do not take so much time away from teaching and learning.
● For developing alternative tests and accommodations that meet the needs of special education and bilingual students.
● For establishing multiple criteria for graduation so that no single test will determine the fate of a student.
● For assessing the impact of the Massachusetts Frameworks and the MCAS tests on the quality of the local curriculum and instruction.

The Arlington School Committee strongly urges the Department of Education and the state legislature to delay the implementation of the graduation requirement in order to re-assess the MCAS, to reevaluate the frameworks and to determine their impact in our classrooms throughout the state.

In addition, that the Arlington School Committee asks that our administrators and department heads work with our teachers to ensure that as we align and implement our curriculum, the driving force will not be the MCAS but the quality of education for our students.

That a copy of this motion and documentation developed by the Arlington students be sent to the Commissioner of Education, Chairman and all the members of the Board of Education, our state legislators, and the chairs of the education committee in the senate and the house.

The Arlington School Committee is committed to working with the students, parents, and any group committed to the goals of education reform. Sufficient funding, high academic standards, and high standard and equitable funding for every child-no matter in which community they live.

The resolution was passed unanimously on April 11, 2000.