Published in the October 24, 2017 edition
WAKEFIELD — At their meeting tonight, School Committee members will hear and discuss reports from Assistant Superintendent Douglas Lyons and Wakefield Memorial High School Principal Richard Metropolis on the latest MCAS, SAT and AP
assessments.
These include results from the new version of MCAS, called “next-generation,” that was administered last spring in English language arts and mathematics for grades 3 to 8.
Since the MCAS test has been updated, so has the report, both in the way it looks and in the information it contains.
The previous report had four categories for the level of the score: “Advanced,” “Proficient,” “Needs Improvement” and “Warning/Failing.” Because the test has changed, the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has
introduced new categories to explain a student’s readiness for the higher level of work in their next grade. The new categories are: “Exceeding Expectations,” “Meeting Expectations,” “Partially Meeting Expectations” and “Not Meeting Expectations.”
According to DESE, the MCAS test was changed because even though Massachusetts has the highest performing public education system in the nation, too many high school graduates were not fully prepared for higher education or training. The goal of the reworked MCAS is to improve student achievement through better standards and tests.
Hundreds of experienced educators from all over the Commonwealth were actively involved in designing the next generation MCAS tests. They reviewed grade-by-grade academic standards and updated curriculum frameworks to guide classroom teachers in developing courses and lesson plans. Those updates helped to design a test that measures more accurately in order to provide every child with the opportunity to graduate high school ready for college and career, according to DESE.
The new standards for “Meeting Expectations” are reportedly more rigorous than the standards for reaching the “Proficient” level on the old MCAS. The goal is to set expectations higher to make sure students are on track for the next grade level and ultimately for college and a career.
The new tests focus on a student’s ability to think critically about what they are learning and to apply their knowledge to make clear connections between reading and writing and to develop problem-solving skills.
2017 is the first year for this new MCAS. According to DESE, this “next-generation” test will set the level for the coming years. Therefore, students’ scores are not comparable to their previous scores. DESE sees this as “an opportunity to look forward and to provide every child with the opportunity to graduate high school ready for college and career. We expect that over time, more students will score in the ‘Meeting Expectations’ category or above.”
Parents are being reminded that when the original MCAS debuted in 1998, relatively few students scored “Proficient.” The results improved as students and teachers adjusted to the new expectations. State education officials are expressing confidence that such will also be the case with the next generation MCAS.
DESE stresses that children in grades 3-8 do not face any negative consequences as a result of their scores. (Students moving on to 10th grade will not begin taking this new MCAS until 2019.) Roughly half of grades 3-8 students are already scoring in the Meeting Expectations category or above. However, many students will find that they scored in the Partially or Not Meeting Expectations categories.
If a child is in one of these categories, it does not mean that they learned less, according to DESE. It is just a different way of measuring these new expectations.
“We want to stress again, this is the first year of this new test. We have full confidence that the scores will improve over time as students and teachers become accustomed to the new standards,” DESE reiterated, stressing that MCAS results are only one measure of a student’s growth and achievement.
Parents who have more questions are encouraged to talk with their child’s teacher or principal, who can explain how these test results relate to your child’s academic growth, and they can also talk to you about your child’s social and emotional development.
If you still have questions about the test itself you can email DESE at: mcas@doe.mass.edu.
