The boycotters' grades were not affected and they came back to school the next day without penalty, in accord with the December school committee decision.

But in Arlington, 25 students received three-day suspensions for not taking the composition exam, and in Brookline, students who boycotted the test had a zero factored into their grade.

Though Cambridge has one of the state's most lenient policies on MCAS boycotts, some parents were upset when Superintendent of Schools Bobbie J. D'Alessandro sent a controversial letter to parents saying boycotts could "potentially disrupt the school environment" and "could ultimately have serious repercussions for your child's future education."

At a school committee meeting last month, several parents decried efforts by district administrators to discourage boycotts as "intimidation."

School committee members also objected that D'Alessandro's letter said she wanted "to clarify the Cambridge Public Schools' position on [MCAS]" but never mentioned the policy of no reprisals.

Committee member Nancy Walser, who was not a member of the school committee in December, says she supports the no reprisal policy and felt D'Alessandro's letter "did neglect to say what the school committee voted."

Several weeks later, D'Alessandro said she thought her statement needed to be "clarified" and sent out a second letter.

The MCAS Crucible