Cambridge voters will head to the polls today to elect six candidates to the School Committee, helping to determine the course of the city’s education program over the next two years.

In their campaigns, candidates have focused on familiar themes, with many saying they aim to close the achievement gap along racial and socio-economic lines, they oppose the MCAS test as a high-stakes graduation requirement, and they will focus on the city’s high school as its restructuring program continues.

Ten candidates—including five of the six incumbents—are running for the school board, with the incumbents widely expected to retain their seats.

“I know the candidates have been campaigning very hard,” said Saundra M. Graham, a former city councillor and state representative. “There’s a lot of new people in town, and, depending on whether they come out to the polls, [that] will change the election.”

Incumbents Alfred B. Fantini, Joseph G. Grassi, Susana M. Segat, Alice L. Turkel and Nancy Walser are running for reelection, while Fred Baker, Vincent J. Delaney, Marla L. Erlien, Richard Harding Jr. and Alan C. Price are aiming to get elected to the School Committee for the first time.

Graham said that the incumbents “are fine” and that the seat being vacated by five-term School Committee member E. Denise Simmons—who is attempting to make the traditional jump to the City Council—will be claimed by either Harding or Price. Both candidates seek to fill the void left by Simmons as a member of the school board and of the black community.

“We normally have had a minority of the School Committee, and the liberals do vote to sustain that,” she said.

Former Cambridge mayor Barbara Ackermann echoed Graham’s sentiments.

“It’s very important in a city with so many minorities to have minority representation in the School Committee.,” she said. “Luckily two African-American candidates are running. I hope that one of them will be elected.”

The defining issues of the election will be the high school and the MCAS test, Graham said.

“The kids have not been getting the quality education they deserve,” she said.

Most candidates do not believe the MCAS should be used as a graduation requirement.

“It starts to limit amount of innovation public schools can do,” Walser said.

“Using [the MCAS test] as a graduation requirement is not kind, and is also not really going to lead to kind of results that improve student learning,” Turkel said.

Price also opposes the “high-stakes” test and suggests offering “local diplomas” to students who do not pass the MCAS, he said.