Beating MCAS odds
The Boston Globe
Megan Tench
March 12, 2003
At 20 years old, Juliana Badaro has seen more hardships than most other high school seniors. The single mother of a premature baby already has spent months in and out of homeless shelters. When she arrived in Massachusetts from Brazil a year ago she couldn't speak a word of English, let alone pass an intense standardized test to graduate from high school.
But in between nursing her daughter during lunch period and checking on her before and after classes, Badaro did what she thought was nearly impossible: She passed the MCAS retest.
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''I want to graduate. I am a mother. I need to work for my daughter so she could have a better future,'' she said.
As Massachusetts is poised to hand diplomas to 90 percent of students in the Class of 2003, those who still have not passed -- 6,000 of them -- pose an unprecedented challenge for educators who have tried in countless ways to get their students over the bar. MCAS supporters praise the test for spotlighting the areas with which students struggle. But now, schools might have to turn to analyzing the success stories, hunting for the strategies that worked for students who passed and hoping they might help others.
In that light, the Project Grads seniors spotlight a question that is becoming more crucial: Why do some needy students beat the odds -- and how much time, energy, and money can the Commonwealth spend on individual students?
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While opponents insist that the MCAS graduation requirement hurts the most vulnerable students, state education officials say the success of the teen mothers shows that the high-stakes exam is a valid standard.
''These are fabulous examples of students who have gone through tremendous obstacles, yet they were able to focus and make it past the test,'' said Heidi Perlman, spokeswoman for the Department of Education. ''If these students can find the time, realize that passing the MCAS is important to their futures, why not other students?''
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Aspiring to pursue a career in computer science, Ware is excited that she passed MCAS. ''I was really struggling with it,'' said Ware. ''. . . I needed to pass that test.''
Despite all the support, Winkler acknowledged she was concerned that MCAS might be the one obstacle that would finally drive some of the teen mothers out of school. ''I was extremely nervous,'' she admitted last week.
The teen mothers, some educators say, show students can succeed academically if they have the right resources.
''This is yet another wonderful, shining example of success with students who have been historically written off,'' said Paul Reville, executive director of the Center for Education Research and Policy at MassINC, a Boston think tank. ''Even people with extraordinary circumstances can reach the standards if the proper learning conditions are in place.''
But others are quick to point out that programs like Project Grads realistically can't be created for every student, especially for those whose needs aren't as obvious.
''These mothers are motivated by their baby and their futures,'' said Lucia Hayerson-David, director of the Institute for Learning and Teaching at the University of Massachusetts Boston.
''But most of the other kids are convinced that they're going to end up on the streets so what's the point in trying. . . . . It may not be that easy, but we need to figure out how to make these kids believe that we believe in them.''
