Democratic candidate backs city in MCAS spat
BOSTON — New Bedford officials have picked up an ally in their effort to issue diploma equivalents to students who do not pass the state-mandated MCAS exam for all graduating seniors.
Deb Goldberg of Newton [sic], one of the Democrats running for lieutenant governor, said in a statement this week: "I applaud Mayor (Scott) Lang and the New Bedford School Committee for standing up for what's right. Unlike (Gov.) Mitt Romney, they know what's happening on the local level and can see that the MCAS is not working. We need to dramatically reform our state education policy, and we need to do it now."
Romney, Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey and all the candidates for governor this year oppose the school committee's proposal to issue "general diplomas" to students who otherwise meet graduation requirements. Lang said earlier this week that the MCAS requirement encourage dropouts and make it harder for seniors who do not pass the test to land jobs afterward.
Romney threatened to cut off state educational aid to the SouthCoast city, a move supported by Healey — a fellow Republican vying to succeed him as governor — and the other gubernatorial candidates.
Democrat Tom Reilly, the state's attorney general, "is a strong supporter of MCAS as a graduation requirement and he believes all our schools should adhere to the basic standards of the law," said spokesman David Guarino.
Deval Patrick, a fellow Democrat, said: "We need public schools that educate the whole child. New Bedford officials are right that there is more to that than the MCAS. But, we have statewide standards for a reason and New Bedford officials should respect them."
The third Democratic candidate, Chris Gabrieli, had a similar position.
"He supports MCAS as a graduation requirement," said a statement from his spokesman, Joe Ganley.
Meanwhile, Christy Mihos, a former Republican waging an independent campaign for governor, also opposes the New Bedford proposal.
