Students in public schools in Massachusetts take MCAS testing each year in the spring. For those unfamiliar with MCAS testing, it is an ELA test that provides students with passages and asks students questions about the passages they read, including multiple-choice questions and an essay prompt at the end of each section. These tests, however, have a negative impact on many students and stop them from reaching their full potential.

The problem with MCAS testing is that there are many students who have high academic capabilities but struggle with test-taking. Some schools in Massachusetts also use MCAS data to determine which students might be capable of honors-level courses, which restricts people who struggle with test-taking from higher-level education. Some students also drop out of high school if they fail MCAS, because they feel like they don't have the capabilities to succeed in college.

Another problem is that MCAS creates educational differences between students in public schools and private schools. As a result, students with parents who cannot afford to pay tuition for private schools do not have access to the same level of education. All children should have access to the best possible education. If MCAS is removed from the public-school system in Massachusetts, students will learn more as well as enjoying their education.

A solution to this problem would be to replace MCAS testing with final projects. These will allow students to apply their real-world experiences to their education, as well as enabling students and teachers to have more accurate representations of how much they have learned over the year. Projects can also be customised for students with different learning styles so that they can succeed equally as much as those who learn differently.