In a 1962 speech, President John F. Kennedy shifted our country's space program into high gear by calling for a mission to the moon before the end of the decade while still acknowledging how difficult it would be to meet out goal. "We choose to go to the moon in this decade, and do other things", President Kennedy said, "not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills…."

In 1993, Massachusetts undertook what I consider to be another lofty goal: providing an equal educational opportunity for all children in our state. The landmark Education Reform Act promised billions of taxpayer dollars for increased per-pupil spending, greater investment in curriculum and professional development, more money for school facilities and technology. For the past seven years state government has fulfilled the financial end of the bargain. In return, state government has asked that local school districts use the new money to ensure that, beginning with math and English, all students demonstrate a threshold level mastery of core subject areas before being awarded a high school diploma.

Before Education Reform, and before the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS), Massachusetts operated with a totally decentralized public education system, requiring only two subjects for high school graduation: physical education and social studies. Beyond that, all graduation standards were under the control of local school districts. In the areas of math, English and science, the standards for graduation were as varied as the individual school systems themselves.

There is no doubt that under that system too many diplomas were being awarded to students who had met only the lowest expectations. The phenomenon of social promotion, of giving a student a diploma for little more than showing up to class, was a disservice to those students and diminished the value of diplomas earned by the students who had worked hard, made the grades, and left high school ready to compete in the world. One of the main goals of Education Reform debate was to reestablish the significance of a high school diploma. Rather than issuing meaningless diplomas to low achieving students, we are now working to identify the weaknesses of both students and schools, and working to help both improve.

Many of the states that have accepted the challenge of making a high school diploma mean something have opted for a more centralized public education system than we have here in Massachusetts. Instead of dictating to local districts on matters of curriculum, textbooks, and teaching methods Massachusetts has worked to establish a reasonable standard of competency in English and mathematics, and left it to local districts to choose the best means of hitting the target.

The state has developed recommended frameworks and made them available to local districts in order to help them prepare students to meet the standards. It has made additional resources available for professional development and training, as well, but it has avoided making teachers and local educational officials mere agents of the state without the power to exercise professional discretion.

Students in the class of 2003 will be the first who are required to achieve a statewide standard in math and English skills before being issued a high school diploma. The reality of that impending deadline has focused public attention on the importance of devising an assessment system that fairly measures the English and math competency of each and every student. Some have raised the question of whether it is even possible to identify a uniform level of competency appropriate for a high school graduate. Some have raised concerns that the current assessment system sets the bar too high and others object that students are being tested on material they haven't had the opportunity to learn.

I have had many meetings with constituents about the MCAS, and plan many more. In those meetings I often hear the types of concerns listed above. Many of my constituents believe that the assessment system used in recent years has been seriously flawed and the MCAS system should be abandoned in its entirety. Others urge me to "stay the course" and resist efforts to "gut the test". I'd like to share with you some of my views on these important issues.

Most fundamentally, I do believe it is possible and appropriate that we, as a Commonwealth, establish a uniform level of competency in math and English that we expect of all high school graduates. While this goal has proven difficult to achieve, thus far, I believe it is a goal worthy of our continuing efforts and dedicate myself to achieving it. There remains time for us to improve on the current assessment system. The class of 2003 still has over two years before they are scheduled to graduate. We should use the time remaining to improve the assessment system and to give additional assistance to students who are having difficulty reaching the standards we establish.

I, like many of my constituents, was disappointed with the early efforts of the Department of Education to establish the assessment system. Behind all the tough talk about raising standards there was not enough being done to create a fair MCAS. On the other hand, I have been heartened by the Department's recent efforts to improve the assessment system and to help kids reach their highest potential.

Based on what I have heard from educators and constituents I have been pushing the Department to develop alternative methods of assessment. The goal is to determine if students meet our expectations for a high school graduate. If alternative methods such as portfolio assessments will help us do that, they should be made available to local districts. Ideas such as retests that focus on competency as opposed to high achievement are also promising and I support the Department's efforts in this regard.

Similarly, I am encouraged that the Department is exploring the possibility of alternative assessments for special education students, vocational students, and bilingual students. In each case these students often face unique challenges and the assessment system we use should be appropriate to their circumstances and to the type of instruction they have received. Development of these alternative assessments, however, must avoid stigmatizing these students while acknowledging their accomplishments. We have come too far to go back to segregating and stigmatizing students who have different educational needs.

Finally, it is crucial that we identify and assist those students and districts that will need additional assistance to meet our expectations. Again, after a late start, the Department of Education is finally putting more emphasis on these essential components of Education Reform. I helped create the state funded programs for tutoring and other remedial assistance and I will support a further expansion of these this year. We must pledge to support each and every child in their effort to reach their own potential. The Department must also continue its efforts to make sure that all districts are instructing students on the material included in the MCAS.

Let me be clear. There is much work yet to be done to improve and perfect the current assessment system. Developing a system that fairly measures every student's basic math and English skills has not been an easy task but I am not prepared to abandon the MCAS. The present administration of the Department of Education has recently intensified its efforts to address the flaws in the MCAS and is working to make it a true system of assessment. I have every expectation that work will continue over the next two years.

The work is difficult but it must be done and we must bring to it a compassion for our children and a commitment to listening to the voices of thoughtful dissent about the current system. The voices of dissent and support have helped move us forward and have helped us "organize and measure the best of our energies and skills…" I applaud all those who have participated constructively in the process and pledge my willingness to work with you to improve educational opportunity for all our kids.