In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, falling test scores in math and reading have alarmed parents and educators nationwide, and rightly so. But the 2022 Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) results show that Harvard students’ scores have held up well and remain among the highest in the state. (See graphs below.)
Statewide, Harvard 10th-graders ranked second in English language arts, fourth in science, and seventh in math. All 10th-graders met the MCAS scores required for graduation, Superintendent Linda Dwight said. Those 10th-graders are the current Bromfield juniors, as the test was given last spring, with results announced in the fall.
The School Committee heard an analysis of the 2022 MCAS scores from Robin Benoit, the district’s director of instructional design. The last full set of MCAS tests was in 2019, Benoit explained. The tests were canceled in 2020 and given in an abbreviated form in 2021. Last spring, grades 3-8 and 10 all took the full two-day set of tests.
Benoit said the 2022 results are “pretty similar in terms of achievement” to those of 2019. Keeping those levels of achievement high, she said, speaks to all the hard work done by parents, teachers, and administrators—whether children were learning remotely, in a hybrid system, or in person.
Many people have been particularly worried about children whose first two years of school were disrupted during the height of the pandemic. But for Harvard third-graders who took the test last spring, the percentage who met or exceeded expectations for their age in English language arts (ELA) actually rose slightly to 75%, up from 73% in 2019. Math was more of a problem, with 66% meeting or exceeding expectations in 2022, down from 71% in 2019. Those results mirror a national trend, where math scores showed the most significant drop.
Although a single test is hardly an adequate sample, the pandemic disruptions seem to have had a greater academic impact on middle schoolers than on elementary students. In grade 7, the percentage of students meeting or exceeding expectations in math fell from 73% to 65% between 2019 and 2022, with a smaller drop in language arts. Grade 8 scores likewise fell, from 71% to 60% in math, and 88% to 82% in language arts. But those results still left Harvard eighth-graders tops in the state for language arts.
At Hildreth Elementary School, Benoit said the teaching teams in math, language arts, and science are studying the test results to see areas where the curriculum can be improved, while academic departments at the Bromfield School are doing a similar analysis. School Committee member SusanMary Redinger said she hoped Benoit’s newly created position of director of instructional design will help track this kind of testing data over time.
In an earlier interview with the Press, Benoit emphasized that, for an individual student, the MCAS is “a snapshot”—just one piece of information. She noted the tests can show areas of strength for a student, as well as areas where more help may be needed. For parents, she advised, “It shouldn’t be the only thing you look at.”
For all district scores, see https://profiles.doe.mass.edu/statereport/nextgenmcas.aspx.
