This sums it up in a nutshell - It also raises the larger question of what to do for future classes. Should schools adopt, as Somerville did, a focused -- some would say narrowed -- curriculum that marches lockstep with MCAS? Or risk, as Cambridge did, a less-scripted approach that preserves a diversity of curricular offerings but might leave students ill-prepared for the all-important test? Or is there, perhaps, a better, middle way? Comparing two Massachusets districts, people were surprised that the lower to mid - income district did better on the state test than the more affluent. Why? Oh yeah, they teach to the test.