MIDDLEBORO — Massachusetts voters may have rejected the MCAS test results as a graduation requirement, but the exam still has value, Superintendent of Schools Carolyn Lyons said at the Jan. 23 Middleboro School Committee meeting.

The test will still be administered, Lyons said, and students will be expected to take the exam. 

But with the graduation requirement removed, MCAS testing can serve a somewhat different purpose. 

MCAS can now be “a learning opportunity’’ to assess a student’s academic performance and what skills might need to be focused on “without the high-stakes stress around the test.’’

The exam will serve as an “assessment’’ to determine “where a student is functioning,’’ Lyons noted.

The test, she stressed, “is not going anywhere.’’

For current seniors to graduate, they must have passed Grade 10 English, English II, Geometry and Biology. Those standards were approved by committee members at the Jan. 23 meeting in lieu of MCAS results being factored in.

All seniors are on track to hit those benchmarks, Middleboro High School Principal Paul Branagan said. 

The district is awaiting guidance from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to determine whether any other requirements will be added for students to meet minimum graduation standards, he said. 

Lyons said many parents have questions and opinions about the new status of the MCAS. 

She encouraged them to reach out to educators to discuss any concerns.

“We’re in new territory,’’ she said.