Supt Belson: Medford is Making Progress on MCAS
– Allison Goldsberry
In this new era of accountability in the public education system, students are tested in Massachusetts on the MCAS exam at every grade level from the third grade through the eighth grade.
Once students get to high school, the testing becomes even more high-stakes and the MCAS exam determines whether a student graduates.
The good news is, with all of the challenges Medford faces in educating a variety of students, from low-income students to non-native English speakers to special education students, nearly 90% of high school students passed both the English and Math portions of the MCAS exam last year.
In addition, the rest of the district is performing on average at a high level on the English exams and a moderate to high level on the Math exams compared to the rest of the state.
Where things get a little sticky is considering performance of individual subgroups (such as low-income students, non-native English speakers, and special education students) in each school.
While a district may be performing well at the aggregate level, such as Medford, poor or mediocre performance within a subgroup can label the entire district as underperforming, a wrinkle that confounds Medford educators and others across the state.
“Depending on your demographics, you will either make it or not make it, to some degree,” said School Superintendent Roy Belson.
In a district as diverse as Medford, performance of the different student subgroups is critical, and Belson said the schools are continually striving for improvement.
According to Belson, Medford’s subgroup performance is increasing and outperforming other subgroups across the state.
The one thing Belson wants parents to take away from Medford’s MCAS results is the progress the city has been making, both over the last few years since the test was first administered and for the students that continue to improve their performance each year.
“I want them to see a school system that’s making progress on a regular basis,” said Superintendent Belson.
After two years of flat MCAS scores statewide, Medford and other districts are boosting the number of students who achieve advanced or proficient scores and are decreasing the number of students who need improvement or fail.
For example, in 2003, just 15% of Medford High students earned an advanced score on the math MCAS exam. Four years later, that number is 42%, equal to the state average. Only 8% failed the exam, compared with 9% for the state, while in 2003 24% failed.
Belson said overall, he’s happy with Medford’s results but there is of course room for improvement. He said the test results will be examined closely and necessary curriculum tweaks will be made to help students improve their scores.
“It’s our obligation to make sure the youngsters are prepared to take these tests,” said Belson.
More…
See all of Medford’s MCAS results
See how Medford’s scores compare over the past four years
Results by School…