NRPS exceeds state MCAS averages

Published in the October 18, 2018 edition

By JILLIAN STRING

NORTH READING — The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) released the 2018 Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) data on September 27, bringing good news to North Reading Public Schools (NRPS).

The district exceeded or met state averages for all grade levels and subject areas.

“I am pleased and proud to report to the North Reading community that students across all of our five schools in the district have performed well on the spring 2018 MCAS assessment,” Superintendent Jon Bernard stated in a letter to parents.

Students in grades 3-8 took the English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics Next Generation MCAS last spring, while high school students took the Legacy version of the exam. The Science and Technology/Engineering MCAS tests for grades 5 and 8 were also the Legacy version.

The Next Generation MCAS is expected to be rolled out to high students for spring 2019.

The grading system for the two versions differs slightly, with the Next Generation exam reporting Exceeding, Meeting, Partially Meeting, or Not Meeting Expectations compared with the Legacy version reporting Advanced, Proficient, Needs Improvement, or Warning/Failing status.

According to Bernard, fifth-graders at the J.T. Hood School ranked No. 1 in the state for students scoring in the Advanced category for Science and Technology/Engineering, with the L.D. Batchelder fifth-grade tying for second place.

“Only four elementary schools in Massachusetts have students scoring ‘Advanced’ and ‘Proficient’ (the second highest level of performance) at over 90 percent on the Science examination, and the L. D. Batchelder Elementary School and the J. T. Hood Elementary School are among the four schools,” Bernard said.

Elementary results

According to the DESE, 9 percent of the district’s third-graders scored in the Exceeding Expectations range for Reading, 60 percent are Meeting Expectations, 31 percent are Partially Meeting Expectations, with 1 percent Not Meeting Expectations. In 2017, 13 percent of students were Exceeding Expectations, 52 percent Meeting Expectations, 33 percent Partially Meeting Expectations, and 2 percent Not Meeting Expectations.

In Math, 10 percent of third-graders are Exceeding Expectations, 60 percent are Meeting Expectations, 27 percent are Partially Meeting Expectations, and 2 percent are Not Meeting Expectations. In 2017, 9 percent were Exceeding Expectations, 62 percent Meeting Expectations, 26 percent Partially Meeting Expectations, and 3 percent Not Meeting Expectations.

For ELA, 20 percent of fourth-graders are Exceeding Expectations, 61 percent are Meeting Expectations, 16 percent are Partially Meeting Expectations, and 2 percent are Not Meeting Expectations. In 2017, 4 percent were Exceeding Expectations, 65 percent Meeting Expectations, 30 percent Partially Meeting Expectations, and 2 percent Not Meeting Expectations.

Scores in the area of Math revealed that 10 percent of fourth-graders are Exceeding Expectations, 59 percent are Meeting Expectations, 26 percent are Partially Meeting Expectations, and 4 percent are Not Meeting Expectations. In 2017, 6 percent were Exceeding Expectations, 50 percent Meeting Expectations, 33 percent Partially Meeting Expectations, and 3 percent Not Meeting Expectations.

Results for fifth-graders at NRPS showed 18 percent Exceeding Expectations in ELA, 64 percent Meeting Expectations, 16 percent Partially Meeting Expectations, and 2 percent Not Meeting Expectations. In 2017, 9 percent were Exceeding Expectations, 52 percent Meeting Expectations, 35 percent Partially Meeting Expectations, and 4 percent Not Meeting Expectations.

Fifth-grade Math scores revealed 8 percent of students Exceeding Expectations, 58 percent Meeting Expectations, 31 percent Partially Meeting Expectations, and 3 percent Not Meeting Expectations. In 2017, 9 percent were Exceeding Expectations, 47 percent Meeting Expectations, 40 percent Partially Meeting Expectations, and 4 percent Not Meeting Expectations.

The Science and Technology/Engineering Legacy scores for fifth-grade yielded 61 percent Advanced, 27 percent Proficient, 9 percent Needs Improvement, and 3 percent Warning/Failing. In 2017, 38 percent were Advanced, 35 percent Proficient, 21 percent Needs Improvement, and 6 percent Warning/Failing.

According to Bernard, the L.D. Batchelder School and the E. Ethel Little School have been identified as “Schools of Recognition” for their outstanding performance and growth on the 2018 MCAS exam.

Middle School scores

DESE Next Generation results for the sixth-grade ELA exam showed 9 percent of students Exceeding Expectations, 43 percent Meeting Expectations, 43 percent Partially Meeting Expectations, and 4 percent Not Meeting Expectations. In 2017, 11 percent were Exceeding Expectations, 47 percent Meeting Expectations, 38 percent Partially Meeting Expectations, and 4 percent Not Meeting Expectations.

In Math, 12 percent of sixth-graders are Exceeding Expectations, 53 percent are Meeting Expectations, 31 percent are Partially Meeting Expectations, and 4 percent are Not Meeting Expectations. In 2017, 12 percent were Exceeding Expectations, 55 percent Meeting Expectations, 27 percent Partially Meeting Expectations, and 6 percent Not Meeting Expectations.

Seventh-grade results for in ELA revealed 17 percent of students are Exceeding Expectations, 46 percent are Meeting Expectations, 30 percent are Partially Meeting Expectations, and 7 percent are Not Meeting Expectations. In 2017, 2 percent were Exceeding Expectations, 55 percent Meeting Expectations, 40 percent Partially Meeting Expectations, and 3 percent Not Meeting Expectations.

The Math exam showed that 15 percent of seventh-graders are Exceeding Expectations, 48 percent are Meeting Expectations, 30 percent are Partially Meeting Expectations, and 7 percent are Not Meeting Expectations. In 2017, 12 percent were Exceeding Expectations, 53 percent Meeting Expectations, 31 percent Partially Meeting Expectations, and 4 percent Not Meeting Expectations.

On the eighth-grade ELA exam, 11 percent of students are Exceeding Expectations, 52 percent are Meeting Expectations, 29 percent are Partially Meeting Expectations, and 9 percent are Not Meeting Expectations. In 2017, 6 percent were Exceeding Expectations, 50 percent Meeting Expectations, 40 percent Partially Meeting Expectations, and 4 percent Not Meeting Expectations.

The eighth-grade Math scores showed 14 percent Exceeding Expectations, 60 percent Meeting Expectations, 26 percent Partially Meeting Expectations, and 1 percent Not Meeting Expectations. In 2017, 8 percent were Exceeding Expectations, 49 Meeting Expectations, 39 percent Partially Meeting Expectations, and 4 percent Not Meeting Expectations.

For the eighth-grade Legacy Science and Technology/Engineering exam, 5 percent of students scored in the Advanced range, 47 percent scored Proficient, 40 percent scored Needs Improvement, and 8 percent scored in the Warning/Failing range. In 2017, 4 percent were Advanced, 45 percent Proficient, 41 percent Needs Improvement, and 9 percent Warning/Failing.

High School results

The 10th-grade ELA exam showed 57 percent Advanced, 41 percent Proficient, 1 percent Needs Improvement, with no students falling in the Warning/Failing range. In 2017, 56 percent were Advanced, 40 percent Proficient, 2 percent Needs improvement, and 1 Warning/Failing.

In Math, 60 percent of 10th-graders scored in the Advanced range, 27 percent Proficient, 11 percent Needs Improvement, and 1 percent Warning/Failing. In 2017, 62 percent were Advanced, 30 percent Proficient, 6 percent Needs Improvement, and 2 percent Warning/Failing.

For Science and Technology/Engineering, 48 percent of 10th-graders scored Advanced, 41 percent Proficient, 11 percent Needs Improvement, and 1 percent Warning/Failing. In 2017, 48 percent were Advanced, 42 percent Proficient, 9 percent Needs Improvement, and 1 percent Warning/Failing.

“A public presentation on the performance of our school district as it relates to the 2018 statewide school and district accountability data will take place at a public meeting of the North Reading School Committee on October 29,” Bernard said, adding that individual student score reports were scheduled to be mailed home to families on October 12.