MCAS: Bad or Good?

I'm sort of torn between whether MCAS is good or not. I had my first session of the English MCAS today, and frankly I'm on the fence about it. Here are reasons supporting both sides:

The Bad

1. It's a test
Tests are never fun, and, you know, the MCAS is a test.

2. You never get stuff you actually want to read
This is actually a strategy the MCAS people have. If we don't want to read the story, we don't care and put less effort into it. But does every test have to have a story about civil rights? Because every test does.

3. Open responses are vicious
As if the story isn't bad enough, you also have to answer a horribly boring open response question about it. The multiple choices are usually all right, but the open responses are always horrible. Like, who wants to write a monster paragraph about how we can connect to nature in school?

3.5. Open responses about poems are evil
I don't care about the "meaning" of a poem that makes no sense anyway! And how am I supposed to quote a poem that only has four lines? Yes, the poems are always the worst.

The Good

1. No Homework
Any teacher that gives homework during MCAS is a bad teacher. I mean, I'll admit that since I never stress out about the test, I could do homework, but I wouldn't want to.

2. Gum, reading, and sleep
I'm not really a gum fan, but I love reading and sleep! This particular session I didn't get much time for reading, but if you finish early you can get pretty far in your book or have a nice, long nap (make sure you put your best effort into the test, though).

3. So much free time!
This is how my MCAS day went...
9:00 - 11:40: The test
11:40 - 12:12: Lunch/Recess
12:12 - 12:45 or so: Hanging out in the gym
12:45 - 12:50: Getting told to go upstairs, only to be told to go back to the gym
12:50 - 1:25: Hanging out in the gym again
1:25 - 2:12: Hanging out in the auditorium during band period
2:12 - 2:55: Watching some dumb basketball movie for electives
Yup, I could've left school after lunch and it wouldn't have mattered.

Ultimately I'm leaning towards "The Good," but what do you think? Leave a comment to share your opinion. Also, what do you think of the introduction saying the test is "shredded and recycled" rather than "destroyed?" I think it's heresy, personally.