MABE endorses a YES vote on Massachusetts Ballot Question 2, which would eliminate the MCAS graduation requirement. Assessment of multilingual learners must be holistic and multifaceted, not reduced to a single standardized test score. Too many bilingual students are being held back from graduating based on a test that does not accurately reflect their capabilities in multiple languages. Accountability is essential for schools serving multilingual learners, but our current high-stakes accountability system fails students and families who come from rich and diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Let’s work together to support schools by expanding bilingual programming, diversifying the teacher pipeline to end the bilingual teacher shortage, and providing much-needed professional and technical assistance for the specific needs of bilingual programs. Ending the MCAS graduation requirement is a step towards educational equity for multilingual learners. Vote YES on Question 2 on November 5, 2024 and learn more about this issue here.