Massachusetts students are making progress in math and English language arts (ELA), 2023 test scores reveal, but they still lag behind compared to the years before the pandemic. On Tuesday the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released the 2023 Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) scores. MCAS are a standardized test administered to grades 3 -8 and high school….
These numbers are still down from 2019, when 52% of students in grades 3-8 met or exceeded expectations in ELA, 49% in math and 48% in science. In grade 10 in 2019, 61% of students met or exceeded expectations in ELA and 59% in math.
Of the 4% of students who don't pass the test -- and therefore cannot earn a diploma -- three-quarters already don't meet local district requirements to be eligible for graduation, according to data in Hills' presentation provided by Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Associate Commissioner Rob Curtin.voted last year to raise the minimum score
"My focus," Hills said,"is not, 'Ah -- it's just 700 students, who cares?' It's 'What programs do we need to put in place at the state level to partner with districts so that 700 gets as close to zero as possible?'" Close to 95% of Asian and white students pass the competency determination on their first try, compared to just over 80% of Black students and just under 80% of Hispanic students, according to Hills' presentation.
"It's very infrequently discussed, but there are all sorts of chances to pass the MCAS and there are alternatives that districts can use. Something like 20% of students don't pass the MCAS at all through the state, they use EPPs," she said. Hills said there is a"policy implication" for English language learners, who on average pass the test less than any other demographic that Curtin's data tracks.
For example, the department is looking at providing translated versions of the assessments in additional grades and additional languages, Curtin said at Tuesday's board meeting. The tests are currently offered in Spanish for math and science at the high school level, and DESE has proposed both to offer Spanish exams in third through eighth grade and also to offer tests in languages other than English and Spanish.
Although the department is examining ways to change the test, Craven said that eliminating the MCAS altogether -- as some have called for -- would eliminate a standardized tool for the state to measure equity across districts and student demographic groups. A group of educators, parents and former students formally filed this petition with the attorney general’s office for a law to remove the requirement that a student pass the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, or MCAS, as a condition to get their high school diploma.
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