"I am a teacher of high school ESL students. In Massachusetts, recently arrived students from other countries are now required to take the tenth-grade state exit exams (MCAS) in their first year in the United States, without consideration of their English language proficiency. Many of my students have despaired when faced with the exam as early as November, if they entered the school as juniors.

"For some, English-language experience is limited to greetings and elementary commands, and they are asked to sit in a room for five days and answer questions that they can barely read. Most of these students come from countries where exams mean the difference between staying in school or entering the work world.

"My students are facing huge adjustment problems to begin with and challenges far beyond those of the average high school student. The state should not require that they be subjected to the added stress of a high-stakes test that they have no chance of passing."

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