Meet the architect of the MCAS campaign. 5 questions for Hull teacher Deb McCarthy

Deb McCarthy taught fifth graders in Hull public schools for a quarter century. She is a union leader and comes from a family of educators. And now she's one of the driving forces behind a high-risk Nov. 5 ballot question seeking to eliminate the MCAS 10th exam as a high school graduation requirement.

If the question passes and becomes law, school districts would still administer the exam but would be allowed to formulate their own graduation standards.

Proponents argue that educators are best suited to determine whether students are meeting standards, rather than a “one size fits all” standardized test.

Opponents, meanwhile, say the test is a much-needed measure of students' preparation and academic performance.

The dispute over the election question has attracted prominent supporters and a lot of money.

Cambridge actor and philanthropist Matt Damon has lent his voice to the Yes on 2 campaign, which supports the push to end the graduation requirement.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey and other elected officials have spoken out against it. Senior lawmakers have also floated the possibility of changing or abolishing the ballot question if voters agree.

MassLive's conversation with McCarthy has been lightly edited for clarity and content.

Q: First question: There are less than five days until Election Day. How are you feeling?

Deb McCarthy: “You know, what a great question. This has been more than a decade in the making, so I feel like the conversation is taking center stage and that a coalition of educators, parents and community members are finally being heard about the harm [that’s] This is what happens when we deny a student a diploma based on a unique metric.”

Q: How did you get into this work? You were a classroom teacher for many years. But you were mobilized in a very personal way.

A: “About a decade ago, I was actually chair of the MTA’s Government Relations Committee, and we were pushing legislation, right? So I’ve been involved in this process legislatively for more than a decade.”

“What happened was with the pandemic everyone said we shouldn’t do the test and everyone said it [it was]you know, not a good time to take the test. And we decided to manage it. And we had a lot of parents who opted out.

• Read more: Cambridge native Matt Damon just advocated eliminating the MCAS graduation requirement. Here's what he said

… I refused to take the test and was placed on administrative leave.” (She was later reinstated.)

Q: Opponents of eliminating the graduation requirement have argued that if you take away the test, any objective measure of student performance is removed and children are simply passed on regardless of whether they have the required skills [they need to graduate].

A: “That’s simply not true. Every year we have students in Hull getting into Harvard, students in Weymouth, students in Brookline, students in Wellesley, students in Boston, and they get into Harvard and other colleges based on their GPA and rigorous coursework. Colleges don't ask for the MCAS.

• Read more: Election 2024: MCAS, mushrooms, more: What you need to know about the mass fall election questions

Q: Current polls on this topic show about 51% voter support for the cancellation of the compulsory conclusion. When you're out there talking to people, is that reflected in the conversations you have?

A: “Far more than that. You know, we do internal polls every week… Remember, we collected 170,000 signatures, right?” We've been doing customer acquisition and phone banking for four months now. And I was in the community and had conversations. I have been in the company of parents who have given up their weekends, [who] gave up their nights and joined us because they are just as passionate and committed to eliminating this one-off, diploma-bound metric.”

Q: What do these parents tell you?

A: “…That they would like to see us address this inequality, that they would like to see us do something about getting a diploma based on a unique metric.”

• Read more: Top mass. Democrats indicate they could change MCAS and legislative review voting questions

Q: You have been a classroom teacher for 25 years. How did you get into teaching? What did you get from it?

A: “So my mother was an educator in Hull and ended her career after 50 years. My sister is a teacher. My daughter is a teacher. My son married a teacher… When I was in kindergarten, I played “school.” In eighth grade, I volunteered in my brother’s special education classroom…So I knew I was going to be an educator for as long as I could remember.”

“…People like to say that they teach to make a difference. I personally taught because the students make a difference in my life every day. And the students in my class made me the person I am today, which is why this fight is so important.”