Choosing the right MCAS locations is a challenging puzzle for school administrators every year; however, when problems are solved, some students are left frustrated by the test locations.
The Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) is a state-wide test that runs yearly from grades three to 10. At the high school level, freshmen take a Biology MCAS exam, while sophomores take an ELA MCAS and Math MCAS. In 2024, the MCAS graduation requirement was removed, but the state mandates all Massachusetts public schools continue administering the exams in order to keep track of the school’s performance. At Algonquin, these tests are taken on school Chromebooks and primarily administered in the C Gym, although some students are placed in other classrooms in smaller group settings.
There are many factors when deciding which MCAS locations are best for students. According to Assistant principal and MCAS testing coordinator Janet Brown, the school needs a space that can fit a large number of students and the right amount of proctors. The most important component is making sure the network connection cooperates with the Chromebooks. Brown carefully thinks about which locations are best for test-takers.
“If you’re running the gym and you’re also running the cafeteria, one of the things that factors into where we put students is how we can support students,” Brown said.
Instructional Technology Specialist Brian Calnan observed how electronics carried by students, such as phones, can interfere with the test devices and the bandwidth.
“Picture it like this: the Chromebooks are the rush hour traffic, trying to get to work, and the phones are a bike race that happens to be using the same roads,” Calnan said. “In order to be safe, people have to go slower and people have to avoid or stop completely because there is too much happening in front of them.”
According to Calnan and Brown, there are plenty of locations that answer the needs of MCAS, such as the C Gym, classrooms in the H-300 hallway and B hallway and the library. For students who need accommodations, there are separate rooms utilized for testing throughout the school. Classrooms in the G hallway were used in the past for standard testing by the majority of students, but once the COVID-19 pandemic struck, more open spaces, including the C Gym and cafeteria, were preferred as testing sites. However, in recent years the administration has stopped using the cafeteria for testing.
“Based on the number of students who were testing this year, and the internet and also the number of students we can serve, it seemed like a better decision to move students out of that area,” Brown said.
Brown and the technology department agreed that there were problems with the bandwidth in the cafeteria. The large windows allowed lots of sunlight inside, which made it hard to see screens. The large space made it easy to fit hundreds of students inside, but the tables are shaped oddly which only allowed two students per table. Along with the technicalities, Brown also cares about the students’ needs in the cafeteria, since the area is closed when used for MCAS.
“If I don’t have to take the cafeteria space from the students, who go and socialize, study and have breakfast there in the morning, I try not to,” Brown said.
This year and last, the C Gym was used for the majority of student testing because it can fit a large number of students without any hiccups in the network connection.. However, during the 10th grade ELA and math MCAS, as the heat increased proctors’ and students’ comfort decreased.
“It was a couple of unseasonably warm days,” Calan said. “It was really hot. It really wasn’t much more comfortable elsewhere in the building, in testing locations.”
Sophomore Ashwika Dandu, who took MCAS in the C Gym, was not a fan of the location for testing. Dandu said the desks were uncomfortable to sit in, and there was little room for students to feel at ease. The humidity during both sophomore exams only made the conditions worse.
“You’re already uncomfortable with the way you sit, and if it’s super hot as well you’re like, ‘Oh no, I can’t concentrate at all,’” Dandu said.
Brown explained that the weather during those two days was at a temperature that the school is not designed to deal with.
“Not all of our schools were built in the modern era, and not all of our spaces are air-conditioned,” Brown said.
Since the heat impacted everyone during MCAS, Brown and the staff decided to relocate the students in the hottest room to a cooler, air-conditioned room. They also brought fans into the C Gym to make the heat more bearable. On the second day of ELA MCAS, they also placed a water station in the gym.
“Wherever I could do something, I did something,” Brown said.
Though some problems in the gym were fixed, freshman Emma Leonard mentioned that there was no clock in the area, which made it difficult to keep track of time.
“It’s so disorienting without seeing the time,” Leonard said.
Freshman Erin Davis also mentioned how the absence of a clock impacted her testing experience.
“It was kind of hard to pace myself, because I didn’t know what time it was,” Davis said.
While Brown acknowledged that students may have not been in view of a clock, she reinforced how the school provides a generous amount of time for MCAS.
“All students have the opportunity to work until the end of the school day, as long as they’re working productively on the test,” Brown said.
Even though there are many MCAS locations, students are placed in the same one every year because they are determined by alphabetical order. Dandu believes that students shouldn’t be in the same place every year, so every student has a chance to experience a location that makes them feel comfortable and focused.
“I just feel it’s unfair,” Dandu said. “I see the same people there every single time.”
Though there are many challenges in the MCAS process, Brown believes administration can take care of the problems while students persevere through the exam.
“I encourage students to do their best work,” Brown said. “I feel a sense of pride for students when they have the time and the space to do their best work and showcase what they know.”
