Weld: School standards plan is 'a retrograde step' - Boston.com

Weld: School standards plan is 'a retrograde step'

By Glen Johnson

AP Political Writer / July 20, 2010

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BOSTON—Former Massachusetts Gov. William F. Weld, who signed the state's landmark 1993 education overhaul into law, is criticizing proposed changes in the public school math and English curriculum.

Weld told The Associated Press that swapping state standards for proposed national ones is "a retrograde step" and a precursor to eliminating the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, or MCAS, tests in both of those subject areas.

"It would be madness to eliminate the MCAS test," Weld said Monday in a telephone interview from his New York law firm. "A lot of blood was spilled, partly during my regime and moreso when (Paul) Cellucci was governor, to preserve the MCAS."

He said that test, a key component of the 1993 law, is responsible for driving Massachusetts students to top finishes in national achievement tests.

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Tuesday, July 20, 2010