A Message from Superintendent of Schools Jon Sills – MCAS ~ Legacy and 2.0 Results

By Jon Sills, Bedford’s Superintendent of Schools

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) released the MCAS and accountability results at noon today, September 27^th.  Student results will be delivered to the schools over the next several days and will be sent out to families as soon as possible. This memo is a preliminary sharing, but district leaders will be doing a deeper dive in each area to analyze our results and determine adjustments to instruction, curriculum, or supports.

We are in a testing transition that has extended over the past several years. Students in grades 3-8 took the MCAS 2.0 in ELA and math for the second year in 2018. The first year of the test, 2017, served as the baseline for the new test. Improvement targets were set for all students and for each subgroup based on those 2017 results.

MCAS 2.0 is the new state assessment, which tests students’ knowledge and understanding of the Massachusetts Frameworks in ELA and Math, both of which strongly reflect of the Common Core Standards.  These Common Core standards focus on higher order thinking skills in relation to the text and therefore align closely with the Bedford Public Schools’ core focus on strengthening students’ analytical thinking skills.  However, where for quite some time we have taught students how to use textual evidence to support claims about the fictional literature that they read, having them do this with nonfiction is a relatively new focus. Developing these skills K-12 is presently our central strategic priority.

Meanwhile, the Science assessments and the 10^th grade ELA and Math assessments, referred to as Legacy MCAS, reflect the old standards, with a small degree of the new standards layered in.

Results Overview

Overall, the following information shows excellent achievement and growth at the 3^rd – 5th-grade levels, with 4^th and 5^th grade showing the strongest results.  In the 6^th – 8^th grade category, 7^th and 8^th grade reflect moderate overall achievement, with poorer showings in our subgroup categories like special education and low-income students.  The 6^th grade’s scores are disappointing and require a much more detailed causal analysis.  The exciting news is that the Lane School integrated the Common Core well before either the middle or the high school, and its strong scores reflect this.  With our new, “all hands on deck focus on literacy”, particularly the development of students’ abilities to independently comprehend complex non-fiction, or paired fiction and non-fiction texts, we are confident that the middle school’s results will become much stronger.

The high school continues to score in the high range for math and ELA, (90% Advanced and Proficient in math, and 96% in ELA), but we have dipped in the past few years.  This decline, while small, particularly given the strength of the programs that support our most struggling students, is something that we are anxious to better understand and address.  While Bedford’s high needs population is larger than most of the districts that are scoring higher, our mission is to bring all of our students to Advanced or Proficient levels.

Preliminary Details

• The Lane School (grades 3-5) met or exceeded their improvement targets for all students and in every subgroup in both English and math. The performance of 5^thgrade students in ELA was exceptionally strong, in the 98^th percentile for achievement of all students across the state. 90% of fifth-grade students met or exceeded expectations in this very challenging ELA test. The math performance dropped a bit in grades 3-4-5, though that was the case in the state overall. There are some areas of concern in the grade 3 ELA performance. Overall, the Lane earned 92% in improvement targets, and is thus identified as “Meeting Targets.” They are in the 94^th percentile when measured against other similar schools in the state.

 

• At JGMS, the “all student” group met improvement targets, and the lowest performing students (identified the previous year) improved but fell short of their target. Several of the subgroups in math and ELA did not meet their targets. In grade 7 ELA, 64% of students met or exceeded expectations, in the 84th percentile statewide. In grade 8 ELA, 68% of students met or exceeded expectations, also in the 84th percentile statewide. 68% of grade 7 math students met or exceeded expectations, in the 93rd percentile; 66% of grade 8 math students met or exceeded expectations, in the 83rd percentile statewide.

Overall, JGMS earned 64% in progress toward improvement targets, and is thus identified as “partially meeting targets.” They are in the 71^st percentile when measured against other similar schools in the state.

• The 2018 tenth grade MCAS tests in ELA and math, like the science tests, were MCAS legacy for the last year.  The 2019 tests will all be MCAS 2.0. In the 2018 ELA test, while “all students” exceeded their target, students with disabilities declined. MCAS math performance held steady for “all students” but declined for students with disabilities and the lowest performing students (identified the previous year).  Building leaders and program administrators are working with the results to identify additional supports and instructional adjustments. With the high school, as with middle school, strengthening literacy instruction across all subject areas, which began as a priority in 2017-2018 will take time to have full effect on such measures as MCAS.  10^th grade Math scores were 90% Proficient and Advanced, with 71% or our students scoring Advanced. In ELA, we were 96% Advanced and Proficient, with 71% scoring Advanced.  In Science, we were 92% Advanced or Proficient, reflecting a strong upward trend.  Overall the high school earned 56% in improvement targets, and is thus identified as “partially meeting targets.” It ranks in the 76^th accountability percentile.
• The science MCAS test, administered in grades 5, 8, and 10 is not yet a “new generation” (2.0) test but is rather an “MCAS legacy” test. Improvement targets were set for this test, as with the MCAS 2.0. While science performance fell across the state, especially at grade 8, our science results improved. At grade 5, students in every group exceeded their targets with the exception of English learners (formerly called ELL students), who met their target. Students in grade 8 groups also met or exceeded their improvement targets. In 10^thgrade science, all students in measured groups exceeded their targets with the exception of students with disabilities, who met their targets.

The New Accountability System

Part of the transition in 2018 is to a new accountability system, which we will be explaining and writing about in more detail in the coming weeks. There are several additional factors now considered in the accountability rating: progress toward attaining proficiency for English learners; chronic absenteeism (more than 10% of enrolled days) measured in grades 1-12; advanced coursework completion at the high school (11^th and 12^th grades enrolled in at least one advanced course); assessment participation (95% requirement as measured over two years).

Overall the Bedford School District earned 72% and is thus designated as “partially meeting targets” (districts from 75-100 are designated as “meeting target” so this percentage should not be interpreted as a “C-.”) Statewide, 17% of districts are designated as “meeting targets”; 75% of districts are designated as “partially meeting” targets.

As Commissioner Jeffrey Riley indicated in his briefing to districts earlier this week, this is a new accountability system and is thus a year of learning and taking a breath, and a year to celebrate positive improvements.  We have a number of things to celebrate with MCAS 2.0, especially at the elementary level, and have sure steps in place to strengthen student learning as measured by these more complex tests.