Harvard students—and their teachers—rose to the challenge of last spring’s MCAS exams, despite the massive disruption COVID-19 caused in the 2020-2021 school year. The MCAS scores that came out this week showed students in several grades—but especially fifth- and 10th-graders—with strong standings in the state.
In 2017 the state introduced a new, tougher MCAS test, sometimes called MCAS 2.0 or NextGen, making it much harder to score in the top category, “exceeds expectations.” Only half of all students were expected to score in the top two categories, grouped as “meets or exceeds expectations.” Students in grades 3-8 and 10 are all tested in math and English language arts; in addition, students in grades 5 and 8 are tested in science.
Harvard fifth-graders swept first place in the state in all three subjects for the percentage of students meeting or exceeding expectations. In science, they also came in third in the state for the topmost category, exceeding expectations.
Bromfield 10th-graders were first in the state in the percentage who exceeded expectations in English language arts, and in second place statewide for that top category in math. But it was not just the highest scorers who did well. For the larger category of students who met or exceeded expectations, local 10th-graders tied for second place in the state for math and tied for third place in English.
Third-graders tied for second place in the state for the percentage who met or exceeded expectations in English, and fourth-graders tied for third place in the same category.
Superintendent Linda Dwight wrote in an email to teachers and staff: “You have proven again the strength of your teaching and support of our students as represented by the MCAS scores. While these scores have their limitations, you should feel proud of the results.” Dwight thanked Bromfield math teacher Russell Wass for analyzing the data to see where the various Harvard grades ranked in the state standings.
According to The Boston Globe, only 46% of all Massachusetts students in grades 3-8 met or exceeded expectations in English last spring, and 33% did so in math. In 10th grade, where the exam is required for high school graduation, the numbers meeting or exceeding expectations were 64% in English and 52% in math. Many school committees, including Harvard’s, had urged the state to cancel the MCAS exams in both 2021 and 2022 because of the pandemic; the exams had been called off in 2020.
