No to standardized tests during covid, Rochester School Committee says

ROCHESTER — After the state decided to continue standardized testing this academic year, the Rochester School Committee decided at a Nov. 5 meeting to draft a letter arguing that Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System tests are unnecessary in a time when schools are already strapped for classroom time. 

Committee member Tina Rood said students could begin testing as early as January, when they’ll make up for tests missed in the spring.

“Those students are going to be asked to take a test on material they haven’t touched in a year and a half,” she said. 

Rood added that she thought test results would show disparities between poor and wealthy communities, and not paint a picture of how much students have learned since the onset of covid. 

The committee unanimously voted to draft a letter to the state calling for standardized tests to be dropped.