By NEIL ZOLOT
WAKEFIELD — The high school has an Education Proficiency Plan protocol for students who do not pass the MCAS tests. “If students don’t meet the minimum requirement, they can still graduate,” Principal Amy McLeod explained at the School Committee meeting Tuesday, December 13. “They can complete an EPP and meet a minimum MCAS score, which is lower than the state standard.”
Nevertheless, she described EEP as a “fallback option.”
MCAS scores range from 440-560. Currently, 440-469 is classified as Not Meeting Expectations, 470-499 as Partially Meeting Expectations, 500-529 as Meeting Expectations and 530-560 as Exceeding Expectations, but standards will change in the future. “The state increased the requirements depending on the (grade) cohort,” Guidance Director David Robinson said. “It’s this year’s freshman class we’re looking at.”
For current seniors, the passing scores for MCAS is 486 in Math, 472 in English Language Arts (ELA) and 220 for Science and Technology/Engineering (STE). To meet their EPP students must score 469-485 in Math and 455-471 in ELA and meet EPP standards and complete relevant courses related to STE.
For current juniors and sophomores, the Classes of 2024 and 2025, the passing scores for MCAS is 486 in Math, 472 in ELA and 467 for Next Generation Biology in STE and 220 for Legacy in STE. To meet their EPP students must score 469-485 in Math and 455-471 in ELA and meet EPP standards, with options for STE still to be determined.
For students in grades 5-9, the Classes of 2026-2030, standards will be raised in some areas. The passing scores for MCAS will be 486 in Math and ELA and 470 for STE. To meet their EPP students must score 470-485 in Math and ELA and meet EPP standards, with options for STE still to be determined.
For the Classes of 2031 and beyond, students currently in elementary school, the passing scores for MCAS will be 500 in Math and ELA and 470 for STE. To meet their EPP students must score 470-499 in Math and ELA and meet EPP standards, with options for STE still to be determined. “The biggest uptick is for 2031 and beyond, but it will give us time to close the gap,” School Committee member Mike Boudreau observed.
High schools don’t compete against others on MCAS as they do in sports, but the state Dept. of Education provides an imperfect measuring tool by grouping communities of similar size and socio-economic status in cohorts for comparison. For grades 3-8, 53% of Wakefield students are meeting or exceeding expectations in ELA, 5th in a cohort of 11 communities, with 48% meeting or exceeding expectations in Math, 9th in the cohort.
For grade 10, 66% are meeting or exceeding expectations in Math (10th) and 64% percent are meeting or exceeding expectations in ELA (7th). In Science for grades 5 and 8 50% are meeting or exceeding expectations (10th).
Melrose is in the same cohort. For their grades 3-8, 60% are meeting or exceeding expectations in ELA, with 57% meeting or exceeding expectations in Math.
For grade 10 in Melrose, 79% are meeting or exceeding expectations in Math and 61% in ELA. In Science for Melrose grades 5 and 8 61% are meeting or exceeding expectations.
Melrose isn’t a bad benchmark for Wakefield, but the cohort also includes dissimilar communities and schools like Brookline, Newton South High and Northhampton. Sometimes it’s as simple as using traditional sports rivals to best compare MCAS scores since those usually pair similar communities, as is the case with Wakefield and Melrose. However, the state DOE cohorts don’t always or even often reflect that.
(A statewide ranking of school systems by Niche, a data analysis firm ranks Wakefield at 138 out of 239 districts, with Melrose at 53 and Weston 1st, based on “rigorous analysis of key statistics and millions of reviews from students and parents using data from the U.S. Dept. of Education. Ranking factors include state test scores, college readiness, graduation rates, SAT/ACT scores and teacher quality, public school district ratings and more, according to their website.)
To prepare for the changes the high school is planning on having a “rigorous program” of studies meeting state core studies requirements. “We know, with the increase in score requirements, it will be a challenge,” McLeod said. “We have a trajectory; teachers know the trajectory and coordinators are able to see the trajectory. We know where students need to be and if students know what to expect, they’ll do better.”
For Special Education students there is a separate standard relative to their skill level. McLeod called it “another avenue to graduation.”
Students are given multiple chances at retakes of the MCAS, two each year. “We’ll use those multiple opportunities each year for students to retake the test,” McLeod said. “The numbers may increase a little. Classes will be available for students with early warning indicators as to how they’ll do. We have a math support class for students with lower skill levels.”
No students have failed to graduate because of low MCAS scores. Not graduating is usually a case of a student not finishing their courseload. “We don’t want to focus on MCAS as the be all and end all,” McLeod said. “As long as you have a passing grade, you graduate.”