In his Oct. 5 letter to the editor, Ed Lambert got the problem of high-stakes MCAS testing backward. Making it a graduation requirement that all students pass the MCAS test is not the way to ensure that our students graduate with the qualifications necessary to fill important jobs in the commonwealth.

The opposite is true. A high-stakes test to graduate often leads teachers to teach to the test and thus to superficial rote teaching and learning, rather than breadth and depth. The important skills he should be looking for in our students are critical thinking, analysis, and ability to problem solve, none of which can be well measured with standardized testing.

Most importantly, one would want our graduates to be excited about learning and interested in a wide range of subjects and ideas. Making the MCAS tests such a central focus of classroom learning will not foster that.

Penny Schultz

Haydenville