MASSACHUSETTS COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT SYSTEM (MCAS)
Questions and Answers about Reporting and Use of Test Results
October 1998

As schools in Massachusetts prepare to receive the results of the May 1998 administration of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) in grades 4, 8 and 10, we have received some questions about the reporting and use of MCAS results. The questions and our answers follow:

Confidentiality of Individual Students' MCAS Results

1. Are individual students' MCAS results covered by the Student Records Regulations?

Yes. An individual student's MCAS results are considered part of his or her student record. Under the Massachusetts Student Records Regulations (603 CMR 23.00), and under the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), schools and school districts must maintain the confidentiality of individually identifiable student records. The eligible student, the student's parents or guardians, and authorized school personnel have access to the student's individually identifiable student records. With certain limited exceptions specified in 603 CMR 23.07 (4), "third parties" do not have access to individually identifiable student records, unless the eligible student or parent/guardian consents.

MCAS results are considered part of a student's "temporary record," as that term is defined in 603 CMR 23.02. In contrast to the "transcript," which must be maintained by the school department for 60 years following a student's graduation, transfer or withdrawal from the school system, the "temporary record" is destroyed no later than five years after the student graduates, transfers or withdraws from the school system.

For more information about the Student Records Regulations, please see Student Records: Questions, Answers and Guidelines, published by the Massachusetts Department of Education in September 1995. The document is available on the Internet at the Department's web site: www.doe.mass.edu.

Release of School and District Aggregate Results

2. Are the school's or school district's aggregate MCAS results considered public records?

Yes, except in rare circumstances discussed below. The school, district and state reports on MCAS results present aggregate data on groups of students and how they performed on the MCAS. Under state law (G. L. c. 4, ¤ 7 (26)), these reports are considered public records. The Public Records Law requires every custodian of a public record (for example, school superintendents) to provide a copy of a public record to any person who requests it, within ten days following receipt of the request. G.L. c. 66, ¤ 10. We encourage school officials to provide information about aggregate MCAS results to the entire school community, including parents, teachers, and the media. The Department of Education is working with school officials to help the public understand how to interpret the results when they are released.

There is one exception to this general rule about releasing aggregate MCAS results. If a school or district has a very small number of students in a particular MCAS reporting category (for example, only one limited English proficient student in grade 8, or only two students with disabilities in grade 4), it is highly likely that an individual student's identity and MCAS results would be traceable from the report, even though the student's name is not mentioned. In that case, the release of the data would violate the state Student Records Regulations and the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. However, these situations are rare. In most cases, it is not possible to identify individual students from the aggregate data in the school or district reports. Therefore, in general, the reports are considered public records.

Use of MCAS Results for Special Education

3. Should a student be referred for special education based solely on the student's MCAS results?

No. Under both federal and state law, school districts are prohibited from using the results of a single test to determine that a student needs special education. For example, the federal special education law, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), as amended in 1997, specifies that local educational agencies "shall not use any single procedure as the sole criterion for determining whether a child is a child with a disability or determining an appropriate educational program for the child." 20 U.S.C. 1414 (b) (2) (B). Moreover, the IDEA states: "In making a determination of eligibility [for special education], a child shall not be determined to be a child with a disability if the determinant factor for such determination is lack of instruction in reading or math or limited English proficiency." 20 U.S.C. 1414 (b) (5).

MCAS results are intended to be diagnostic, to evaluate how well students and schools are meeting the learning standards in the state curriculum frameworks. Individual student results will help teachers and parents to focus on areas in which students need assistance in order to improve their individual performance. At the school and district level, administrators and teachers will use MCAS results to better align the school's curriculum with the state curriculum frameworks, to improve teaching and learning, and to determine what changes or additions to academic support programs and services may be needed to meet the needs of all students.

If you have additional questions about the MCAS program, please call Accountability and Evaluation Services in the Department of Education, at (781) 388-3300, extension 327.