MCAS scores take a nosedive during pandemic

MCAS scores plummeted during the pandemic, according to results released by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, with fewer than half of students meeting expectations in math and English.

Overall, just 46% of students in elementary and middle school scored “meeting expectations” or higher in English language arts in 2021, and 33% did so in math.

That compares with 52% in English and 49% in math in 2019. There was no MCAS given in 2020 due to the pandemic.

Students taking the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System can score “exceeding expectations,” “meeting expectations,” “partially meeting expectations” or “not meeting expectations.”

For sophomores taking MCAS, 64% earned meeting expectations or higher in English, compared to 61% in 2019. In math, 52% of 10th graders met expectations compared to 59% in 2019.

“The results clearly illustrate how the disrupted school year of remote and hybrid learning impacted students’ academic achievement,” said Secretary of Education James Peyser.

The scores showed achievement gaps that were similar among racial and ethnic groups.

In Boston Public Schools, 31% of elementary and middle school students met or exceeded expectations in English, a decrease of 4 percentage points.

Just 20% of students met expectations in math, a decrease of 13 percentage points from 2019.

BPS Superintendent Brenda Cassellius said, “The results released today confirm what we all know, our kids struggled during this pandemic” and it will take everyone to close the gap.

Beth Kontos, president of the American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts, said in a statement that the 2021 results demonstrate how MCAS is flawed.

The results, she said, “reflect our failure as a society to support students living in high-poverty districts; they’re not a reflection of our students’ true potential.”

The Massachusetts Teachers Association strongly opposed giving MCAS during the pandemic and is now supporting a bill that would eliminate the MCAS graduation requirement and replace the test with a broader framework to measure school quality.

MTA President Merrie Najimy said, “MCAS scores mostly measure the impact of structural racism in the form of underfunding of public schools and public health, along with housing, food and income insecurity.”

Families will receive their child’s MCAS scores after Sept. 30.