December 8, 2020
To: Jeffrey C. Riley, Commissioner
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
From: Massachusetts Association of Teachers of Speakers of Other Languages (MATSOL)
Multistate Association for Bilingual Education (MABE)
On behalf of our over 2,500 members, including ESL teachers, bilingual teachers, EL and bilingual program directors, and other English Learner (EL) educators in Massachusetts, MATSOL and MABE urge the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to cancel ACCESS for ELs testing in the 2020-21 school year. On December 7, 2020, the Department notified school districts that the testing window has been extended for a second time, allowing testing from January 7 through May 20, 2021, and ELs are expected to test in person in their district “to the greatest extent possible.”
Our concerns about testing remain, especially any testing that takes place during the winter months. In-person testing is still highly problematic as long as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. We believe that the most important consideration is how ACCESS testing this year will impact on our students. Going forward with testing this school year will have a negative impact on English Learner students and families, furthering educational inequity. Included in this letter is a summary of input collected from MATSOL and MABE members — educators working with English Learners – who are concerned about ACCESS for ELs testing during the pandemic.
MATSOL: Equity & Excellence for English Learners 