Last November, the state of Massachusetts voted yes to Question 2, which eliminated the requirement that a student pass the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) in order to graduate from high school. Despite this elimination, not much will be different for students here at LS. Students are still required by both state and federal law to take the MCAS. They are just no longer required to pass it. I am not the biggest fan of this continued MCAS requirement. I believe that, as students, we have enough on our plate, and adding the additional stress that comes with taking MCAS or any standardized test is completely unnecessary. MCAS is not something that we really are “graded on,” yet we still have to take the time out of our school days and miss classes, where we are being graded, to take it. Even after the sophomores take this test, which is definitely draining, they have to complete the rest of their classes for the day. To return to normal classes after MCAS is just overwhelming and stressful, and students badly deserve a break. As one sophomore said, “it’s just another thing that you have to do.”