By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — The 2022 MCAS exam results were recently unveiled to the School Committee.
Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Kevin Cyr said last spring was the first time the full MCAS exam was administered to grades 3-10 since 2019. He recalled that the test was canceled in 2020 due to schools being closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said half of the exam was administered to grades 3-8 in the spring of 2021 while the full test was administered in grades 9 and 10.
“I can’t say enough about the resiliency our students have shown,” said Cyr. “We continue to outperform the state average in terms of student achievement.”
Cyr said the MCAS exam evaluates students’ performance in four categories: Exceeding Expectations, Meeting Expectations, Partially Meeting Expectations and Not Meeting Expectations. He said the 2022 MCAS results will be the district’s “new baseline” going forward.
“The state has advised us not to compare to the 2021 results,” said Cyr. “The test structure and the time on learning were so different than previous years.”
Elementary school results
Elementary English Language Arts/Social Studies Curriculum Director Maureen Fennessy gave an overview of the English and math exam results for grades 3 and 4.
According to the grade 3 English exam results, 12 percent of students Exceeded Expectations, 49 percent Met Expectations, 36 percent Partially Met Expectations and 3 percent Did Not Meet Expectations.
Fennessy said elementary school officials and teachers were disappointed with the grade 3 MCAS English exam results. She said the exam was “far too hard for students coming right out of the gate.”
“We don’t want to continue on this path,” said Fennessy. “There were still high levels of achievement compared to neighboring districts and the state, but this is not the best that we can do for our students.”
The results from the grade 3 math exam revealed that 13 percent of students Exceeded Expectations, 58 percent Met Expectations, 24 percent Partially Met Expectations and 5 percent Did Not Meet Expectations.
Fennessy said Elementary Math/Science Curriculum Director Christina Perry, who was unable to attend the meeting, was “very pleased” with third-graders performance on the MCAS math exam.
School Committee member Kate DePrizio said her daughter and her friends were excited about taking the grade 3 MCAS exams because it gave them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned in school.
According to the grade 4 English exam results, 10 percent of students Exceeded Expectations, 53 percent Met Expectations, 34 percent Partially Met Expectations and 3 percent Did Not Meet Expectations.
“Our fourth-graders had higher writing scores than our third grade students,” said Fennessy.
The results from the grade 4 math exam revealed that 19 percent of students Exceeded Expectations, 55 percent Met Expectations, 22 percent Partially Met Expectations and 3 percent Did Not Meet Expectations.
“There were high levels of achievement in fourth grade math,” said Fennessy.
School Committee member Jamie Hayman noted that it was “really hard to teach kids” during the pandemic, especially at the elementary level.
“Our teachers worked really hard to get these results,” said Hayman.
LMS results
Lynnfield Middle School English Language Arts/Social Studies Director Dr. Robin Doherty and Math/Science Director Katie Ambroise gave an overview of the MCAS scores for grades 5-8. Ambroise noted that the MCAS science exam is only administered to fifth and eighth grade students.
According to the grade 5 English exam results, 7 percent of students Exceeded Expectations, 52 percent Met Expectations, 39 percent Partially Met Expectations and there were no students who Did Not Meet Expectations.
The results from the grade 5 math exam revealed that 5 percent of students Exceeded Expectations, 55 percent Met Expectations, 36 percent Partially Met Expectations and 4 percent Did Not Meet Expectations.
According to the grade 5 science results, 10 percent of students Exceeded Expectations, 55 percent Met Expectations, 28 percent Partially Met Expectations and 7 percent Did Not Meet Expectations.
The results from the grade 6 English exam revealed that 6 percent of students Exceeded Expectations, 41 percent Met Expectations, 40 percent Partially Met Expectations and 12 percent Did Not Meet Expectations.
“We know that our sixth-graders struggled with the writing piece,” said Doherty. “We are doing more writing across the curriculum, which I really think is going to help.”
According to the grade 6 math exam results, there were no students who Exceeded Expectations while 33 percent Met Expectations, 56 percent Partially Met Expectations and 8 percent Did Not Meet Expectations.
“The sixth grade’s math scores were, unfortunately, lower than the state average,” said Ambroise.
The results from the grade 7 English exam revealed that 8 percent of students Exceeded Expectations, 51 percent Met Expectations, 37 percent Partially Met Expectations and 4 percent Did Not Meet Expectations.
According to the grade 7 math exam results, 15 percent of students Exceeded Expectations, 58 percent Met Expectations, 25 percent Partially Met Expectations and there were no students who Did Not Meet Expectations.
“The seventh grade did outstanding,” said Ambroise.
The results from the grade 8 English exam revealed that 18 percent of students Exceeded Expectations, 52 percent Met Expectations, 25 percent Partially Met Expectations and 4 percent Did Not Meet Expectations.
“Grade 8 had the highest proficiency rate in the middle school for ELA,” said Doherty. “The writing scores were phenomenal.”
The results from the grade 8 math exam revealed that 17 percent of students Exceeded Expectations, 63 percent Met Expectations, 17 percent Partially Met Expectations and 3 percent Did Not Meet Expectations.
“The eighth grade knocked it out of the park,” said Ambroise.
According to the grade 8 science exam results, 8 percent of students Exceeded Expectations, 57 percent Met Expectations, 31 percent Partially Met Expectations and 4 percent Did Not Meet Expectations.
“This is where we generally see the science scores,” Ambroise.
Hayman, whose youngest daughter is in seventh grade, said he met with Cyr, Ambroise, Doherty and LMS Principal Stephen Ralston to discuss the grade 5 and 6 MCAS exam results.
“It’s really concerning to me when I see a score below the state average,” said Hayman. “We have been consistently above state averages except in sixth grade. We are also starting to see a drop in reading and math in fifth grade. The good news is that if you follow the class, we saw a big drop in sixth grade math in 2021, but those kids had a big jump in seventh grade. The data suggests there will be a rebound, but I am still trying to understand why there needs to be a rebound.”
Ambroise said the grades 4 and 5 math curriculum is “very concrete” while more abstract concepts are introduced in sixth grade.
“The sixth grade test is more challenging than the fourth and fifth grade tests,” said Ambroise. “If the sixth grade is dividing fractions, students usually need a review of multiplying fractions. They probably needed a lot more review. That extra time results in moving through the curriculum at a slower space. The good news is we have things in place that will help the class rebound such as having different levels of math in seventh grade. We are definitely forecasting this group of students will do better moving forward.”
LHS results
Cyr, Lynnfield High School English Department Chair Maryellen Iannibelli and Science Department Chair Scott Gordon gave an overview of the high school’s MCAS scores.
According to the grade 10 English results, 13 percent of students Exceeded Expectations, 67 percent Met Expectations, 20 percent Partially Met Expectations and there were no students who Did Not Meet Expectations.
“This is comparable to previous years,” said Iannibelli.
School Committee member Phil McQueen, who works as Lynn Classical High School’s English Department head, said the grade 10 MCAS English exam was “the hardest it has ever been.”
“They asked questions that have never been asked before,” said McQueen.
The results from the grade 10 math exam revealed that 13 percent of students Exceeded Expectations, 56 percent Met Expectations, 30 percent Partially Met Expectations and there were zero students who Did Not Meet Expectations.
Cyr recalled that Algebra 2 is now being taught freshmen year while geometry has been moved to sophomore year.
“I think the curriculum shift will pay dividends,” said Cyr.
According to the grade 9 science results, 19 percent of students Exceeded Expectations, 46 percent Met Expectations, 34 percent Partially Met Expectations and 1 percent Did Not Meet Expectations.
“This is the first time LHS students have taken the computer-based Next-Generation MCAS test,” said Gordon. “It is also under a new curriculum framework. Overall, I was happy with the results, but I am not surprised they went down with the new scoring system. I want to see the 34 percent of students Partially Meeting Expectations go up.”
Action plans launched
Similar to previous years, all four schools will be implementing MCAS action plans in order to help improve student achievement. The action plans include administering assessments, reviewing data and monitoring students’ academic performance. All four schools will be differentiating instruction and will be emphasizing writing in all disciplines as well. The high school will also continue offering its after-school MCAS prep program.
School Committee Chair Rich Sjoberg said the district’s assessments have played an important role in helping students improve academically.
“A student isn’t allowed to fall because we will catch them,” said Sjoberg.
McQueen was pleased that the MCAS action plans are “data-driven.”
“That will help the district moving forward,” said McQueen.
School Committee Vice Chair Stacy Dahlstedt commended all four schools for focusing on differentiating instruction, which she said will help improve student achievement.
“We are using the data, the tools and the resources that we have to make sure all of our students are successful and each individual student is getting what they need,” said Dahlstedt. “I am impressed with what our district is doing.”
Hayman agreed.
“The work our curriculum leaders are doing is what is going to allow us to get back on track faster than most districts,” said Hayman.