Mass. Teachers Association releases anti-MCAS ad NBC Boston [Video]

The campaign behind the effort to decouple statewide standardized testing from high school diplomas is rolling out its first widespread ad campaign — with a promise of “paid advertising efforts, which are anticipated to include 8-figure buys spanning broadcast and digital media.”

The Massachusetts Teachers Association and American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts are backing an initiative petition — Question 2 on this November’s ballot — to eliminate the use of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, or MCAS, as a graduation requirement for all public high school students. The unions say the test takes away from classroom time, overly stresses students, and prevents about 700 students every year from graduating.

The union-backed “Yes on 2” campaign, which named itself the Committee for High Standards Not High Stakes, released its first advertisement Tuesday pairing video of students, teachers and families with audio of calls to replace the MCAS graduation requirement with a different set of standards.

“Question …