Lynnfield’s Summer Street Elementary School ranked the highest on MCAS scores out of more than 930 elementary schools in the state.
“I am very proud of the work that our teachers and administrators do on a daily basis to ensure that our students are getting the very best education,” said Lynnfield Superintendent Jane Tremblay. “Our families and students have become accustomed to this and they certainly deserve it as a resident of Lynnfield. The commendation at LHS and the great rankings throughout the district are a reflection of the dedicated and committed educators we have in the Lynnfield Public Schools.”
Lynnfield and Swampscott schools were among seven high schools in the state commended for high achievement on the recently released results of the 2017 MCAS.
The districts are being honored by DESE acting commissioner Jeff Wulfson for high achievement, making strong progress, and narrowing the proficiency gaps.
Lynnfield ranked number 10 out of 334 districts, with the Summer Street Elementary School ranking first and the Huckleberry Hill Elementary School ranking 23rd out of 934 schools, said Tremblay.
Lynnfield Middle School ranked 42nd out of 476 schools, and Lynnfield High school ranked 25th out of 340.
Swampscott Public Schools ranked 84th and the high school was 29th out of 340 high schools.
“I believe this commendation speaks for itself with regard to the high quality education we continue to provide to our students,” said Swampscott Superintendent Pamela Angelakis. “This week, our focus has been on how our students performed as individuals and at grade levels. We have also spent time discussing the many changes with this next-generation test and how best to help our parent and guardian community understand these changes.”
Parents will be briefed on the changes made in the next-generation MCAS on Nov. 1 in the Swampscott High auditorium. The presentation will focus on the differences between the old test and the new one, including scoring, performance levels, descriptors, higher expectations, etc.
“Whether a child took MCAS last year or will be doing so in the future, we hope parents and guardians will join us,” said Angelakis.
The next-generation MCAS scores are not comparable with previous versions of the test. Eventually, all MCAS testing will be done using the next-generation exam.
The next-generation test was developed in 2015 to create an updated Massachusetts-specific exam that could be administered on a computer. It focuses on critical thinking, applying knowledge, and making connections between reading and writing.
The move to computer-based MCAS testing should be complete by spring 2019.
Next-generation MCAS scores fall into four categories: exceeding expectations, meeting expectations, partially meeting expectations, and not meeting expectations.
Nearly half of all Revere students are meeting or exceeding expectations in grades 3-8, said Revere Superintendent Dianne Kelly. At Revere High School, 88 percent of students scored advanced or proficient on the English Language Arts MCAS, 76 percent on math, and 73 percent on science.
There is still work to be done, said Kelly.
“Our focus will be on identifying interventions that will help our remaining students reach these higher levels of achievement by addressing obstacles like language barriers and social emotional needs, which often inhibit educational progress,” said Kelly. “We are also furthering our work around student centered learning and family engagement to ensure we are building the relationships that make instruction relevant and provide students with the necessary supports to achieve at high levels in a rigorous educational environment.”
Grades 3-8 in Lynn Public Schools, which is part of a group of a 10 urban districts in the state with similar demographics categorized as the Commissioner’s Districts, ranked 49th in Math and 73rd in English Language Arts, said Superintendent Catherine Latham. The grades 3-8 average scaled score was second in English Language Arts and second in math among Commissioner’s Districts and all grades science resulted placed Lynn first among the districts.