Published in the October 25, 2017 edition
By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD – Wakefield school officials are generally pleased with the results from latest standardized tests, but also identified some areas to be targeted for potential growth and improvement.
Assistant Superintendent of Schools Douglas Lyons and Wakefield Memorial High School Principal Richard Metropolis appeared before the School Committee last night to review how Wakefield students performed on the latest MCAS, SAT and AP tests.
Lyons stressed that because this is the first year that students in grades 3-8 were given the “next generation” MCAS test, it should not be compared to previous tests. The 2017 test results, he said, will become the new baseline data and will not impact future accountability ratings.
All high schools in Massachusetts are still using the old or “legacy” MCAS, Lyons added, and will continue to receive accountability data. The next generation MCAS will eventually replace all legacy MCAS tests, including grade 10, by 2019.
Lyons summarized the changes reflected in the new MCAS test. He said that it focuses on students’ critical thinking abilities, application of knowledge, ability to make connections between reading and writing and provides information about each student’s readiness for the next grade level or college/career.
He also noted that achievement levels had been given new designations in the next generation MCAS, which are “Exceeding Expectations,” “Meeting Expectations,” “Partially Meeting Expectations” and “Not meeting Expectations.”
“In general, the new standards for Meeting Expectations are more rigorous than the standards for reaching the Proficient level on the legacy MCAS,” Lyons said. Therefore, lower scores in the first year should not be of great concern.
He said that the new MCAS emphasizes students’ ability to analyze and compare various texts and communicate clearly how they arrived at answers to math problems.
Moving on to the results, Lyons said that in the English Language Arts MCAS, 50 percent of Wakefield’s grade 3-8 students met or exceeded expectations, compared to the state average of 49 percent. About one third of students in those grades partially met expectations. About 5-8 percent are not meeting expectations, he said.
In the math MCAS, 51 percent of Wakefield’s grade 3-8 students met or exceeded expectations, compared to 48 percent for the state.
In the Grade 5 Science MCAS (still using the “legacy” MCAS with some updates), Lyons said that about 50 percent of students tested at proficient or advanced levels. Forty-one percent were in the “need improvement” range.
Thirty-seven percent of eighth grade students tested in the proficient level of the traditional science MCAS. Forty-six percent of eight grade students tested as “Needs improvement” in the Science MCAS.
Lyons said that as the new science standards and curriculum are put in place over the next two years, he expects to see scores improve on the Grades 5 and 8 Science MCAS.
Moving on to the high school (still using the “legacy” MCAS), Principal Richard Metropolis noted that 97 percent of students tested in the “Advanced” or “Proficient” range on the English Language Arts (ELA) MCAS (exceeding the state average). Three percent “Need Improvement” and 0 percent of students were in the “Warning” range.
In the Math MCAS, Metropolis reported that 91 percent of students were in the Advanced or Proficient range (also ahead of the state numbers), 8 percent Need Improvement and 1 percent were in the Warning category.
In the Biology MCAS, over 70 percent of WMHS students scored advanced or proficient, once again beating the state average. About 20 percent were in the Needs Improvement range.
Summarizing the 2017 MCAS results, Lyons said that areas targeted for growth were science in grades 5, 8 and 9 as well as math and ELA in grade 5 and 6.
He touted the high school’s “Level 1” Accountability Rating, with 97 percent and 91 percent of the students performing in the Advanced and Proficient levels in ELA and math.
Lyons attributed the growth and improvement reflected in the MCAS to the “outstanding work of our teachers, instructional support staff and administrators along with the continued efforts of our remarkable students. Special thanks to the School Committee and our parent community for their support and commitment to improving our schools.”
Metropolis then moved on to report on the Class of 2017 SAT scores.
He noted that the WMHS Evidenced Based Reading and Writing mean is seven points above the Massachusetts mean and 25 points above the national mean. The WMHS Math mean is 10 points above the Massachusetts mean and 27 points above the national mean.
Regarding the Advanced Placement (AP) test scores, Metropolis said that in May of 2017, 197 Wakefield students took a total of 392 AP exams in 22 areas. Overall, 72 percent of the Wakefield student grades were a 3 or better. A score of 3 or better is considered for college credit depending on the receiving post-secondary institution policy.
The average 2017 AP test score for Wakefield students was 2.99; for Massachusetts, 3.16; for the United States, 2.84; and the global average was 2.86.
The percent of Wakefield students with AP scores of 3 or higher in 2017 was 71.6. For Massachusetts, 69.7 and globally it was 60.3.
