Uneven 2005 MCAS Results Prompt Renewed Call for Push for Proficiency
Massachusetts Department of Education Press Release
September 28, 2005
Cambridge - The uneven results seen on the 2005 MCAS exams prompted education officials on Wednesday to call for educators statewide to recommit to helping all students move to Proficient on the state's mandatory assessment test.
The federal No Child Left Behind Act requires that all students reach Proficiency in reading and math by 2014. On the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) exam, Proficient is 20 points above Needs Improvement, the bar required to achieve a passing score.
"Just getting by is not good enough in life, and given global competition it is certainly not good enough in school," said Education Commissioner David P. Driscoll. "We have come a long way since we first administered this exam, but maintaining the status quo is just not good enough. We must dedicate ourselves to ensuring that every single one of our students reach their potential, and that starts with Proficiency."
Driscoll released the 2005 school and district MCAS results at a press conference at the Cambridgeport School, flanked by school principal Caz Badynee, and Cambridge Superintendent Thomas Fowler-Finn.
While elementary students overall showed flat results on the 2005 exam, students at the Cambridge K-8 school bucked the state's trend in both math and English:
In Math, 60 percent of fourth graders, 54 percent of sixth graders and 50 percent of eighth graders scored in Proficient or Advanced at the school. Statewide, the average was 41 percent for grade four, 46 percent for grade six and 39 percent for grade eight.
In English, 63 percent of third graders, 70 percent of fourth graders and 68 percent of seventh graders scored at Proficient or Advanced. Statewide, the average was 62 percent for grade three, 50 percent for grade four, and 66 percent for grade seven.
"We'd like to think of this year's results as just one of our many successes," said Cambridgeport Principal Caz Badynee. "We have a strong and unique curriculum, hard working teachers and amazing and insightful kids. Our whole curriculum focuses on building their skills, so they leave here after nine years with an awareness and understanding of how they learn."
Statewide, 10th graders showed the most improvement in 2005. In all, 64 percent of 10th graders scored at Proficient or above in English, up from 62 percent last year, and 61 percent scored at Proficient or above in Math, up from 57 percent last year. Eighty-one percent of students in the class of 2007 passed both the English and math exams on their first try, earning the competency determination necessary to receive their diploma.
Performance in other grades was flat, and in some cases showed slight declines.
The most notable decline was evident in fourth grade English results. Statewide, 50 percent of fourth graders scored at proficient or above, down six percentage points from 2004. Results show that approximately 5 percent of fourth graders scored at 238, just two points away from the 240 needed to fall into the Proficient category.
"This decline worries me, and I hope it is not because we have diverted our focus from the needs of our youngest students," Driscoll said. "It is critical that in our efforts to help our high schoolers graduate we do not forget that the foundation for a good education begins in elementary school."
Driscoll noted that other schools, like Cambridgeport, bucked the statewide trend and moved a significant percentage of students beyond just passing and up into Proficient or above in 2005. Among them:
Grade 3 Reading: Avery School in Dedham, up 21 percentage points
Grade 4 Math: Oliver Hazard Perry in Boston, up 20 percentage points
Grade 6 Math: Sgt. Wm. H. Carney Academy in New Bedford, up 15 percentage points.
Grade 10 English: Media and Technology Charter School in Boston, up 36 percentage points; Frontier Regional School, up 20 percentage points.
Grade 10 Math: Cape Cod Regional Vocational Technical School, up 23 percentage points; Medford Vocational Technical High School, up 24 percentage points.
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Uneven 2005 MCAS Results...
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