Larry W. Ward, a Cambridge parent whose eighth-grade daughter boycotted the MCAS tests last year, disputes that assessment.
"Kids are taking it serious. They can't pass the test," he says. "It's kind of sad they keep saying kids aren't taking it serious. It's just not true."
Ward is a member of CARE and, like other members of the group, he says MCAS tests are unfair and too high-stakes.
He says the state should stop using the test as a graduation standard and he says Cambridge schools need a thorough top-down overhaul.
Opting Out
"How did Hannah Jukovsky do on these tests?" the state-produced scorecard read, with her name in bold letters.
Below the headline were graphs and charts comparing her scores to the four MCAS grading categories: advanced, proficient, needs improvement and failing. She received a 200 on every test, the lowest possible failing grade.
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