MCAS: Are you for or against it? Analysis of an editorial + my own opinions on MCAS test administration

Recently, there have been many centerpieces written condemning the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) and a few supporting it. One I found particularly interesting was an article titled "High-stakes testing defeats purpose of education." It condemned and blamed the MCAS in many radical ways and thinks MCAS prevents Massachusetts from being an "equitable society." Society isn't equitable. It's completely biased and has its own hierarchies. If Massachusetts were egalitarian, then the average know-nothing civilian would …

…other major tests, MCAS scores cannot be cancelled and each time the MCAS is taken, the score is recorded in the student's permanent record. The MCAS is a very good test to keep. It's every school's benefactor to let the state know how students are performing and how teachers are instructing. However, it should not be made a graduation requirement. Deciding if a student graduates or stays should be the school's choice, not the state's.