MCAS Scores Revealed: 3 Schools Now 'Underperforming'

BOSTON, MA — Massachusetts students improved their scores slightly in science while results declined in mathematics testing, according to standardized test scores released Monday by the state's education department.

Additionally, three more Massachusetts schools fell into the "underperforming" category in 2016, based on test results released Monday, which simultaneously showed three other schools improved sufficient to lose the "underperforming" tag.

Here's the statewide breakdown for sophomores on the state's MCAS standardized test:

• English: 91 percent scored proficient or above (same as 2015)
• Math: 78 percent scored proficient or above (one percentage lower than 2015)
• Science: 73% scored proficient or above (one percentage point higher than 2015)

Check your local Patch for your district's 2015-16 results, and find test scores for every school here.

Those test scores feed into the state's five-level school accountability system, meant to flag schools most in need of attention and resources. The system was created in 2012, under a U.S. Department of Education waiver related to the No Child Left Behind program.

Three schools newly dropped below the sufficient threshold this year and are therefore under threat of receivership:

• Brighton High School (Boston)
• Excel High School (Boston)
• Mary Fonseca Elementary School (Fall River)

Additional schools, Mattahunt Elementary School in Boston and High School of Commerce of in Springfield, are currently under "close review."

Meanwhile, three others schools improved enough to escape the "underperforming" label:

• Bentley Academy Charter School (Salem)
• Spark Academy (Lawrence)
• William DeBerry Elementary School (Springfield).

Schools are ranked by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education on a scale of 1 to 5 based on performance metrics weighted relative to schools that serve comparable student populations. The rankings take into account a school's MCAS and PARCC results, as well as the relative improvement rates of its high-need students.

Schools ranked at Level 1 or 2 are in no real danger, but those ranked 3 and higher will receive state mandates to improve in certain areas, and could face penalties. The higher the numbered ranking, the more a school's "accountability level" can impact funding allocation, employees' collective bargaining abilities and the level of local control. Level 4 is considered "underperforming."

Five school districts were newly ranked at Level 1 or 2 for 2016: Bellingham, Dighton-Rehoboth, Gateway Regional, Medford and Oxford.

But there are early rumblings of discontent with this year's ratings.

In an audibly unhappy radio interview Monday morning, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh revealed that two Boston Public Schools — Boston Latin School and the Roger Clap School, in Dorchester — are both being downgraded from a Level 1 to Level 2.

Read More: Boston Latin School Being Downgraded to Level 2 School

Walsh attributed the dip at nationally lauded Boston Latin to the introduction of the PARCC assessment, which he said offered an opt-out provision. However, he said, when 13 students took advantage of that option, it was held against the school as a whole.

The Boston mayor predicted the test and its opt-out option could inflict a similar downgrade on other schools around the state. He has sworn to follow up with state agencies to rectify what he sees as an "unacceptable" decision based on a "flawed" system.

In a press release, DESE said that districts that chose to administer PARCC in grades three to eight in spring 2016 were held harmless on the basis of scores, but their accountability level could still change as a the result of participation rates less than 95 percent (including Boston Latin).

Regardless of whether students took PARCC or MCAS, parents should receive their students' scores from their district by mid-October, according to DESE.

Patch will update this story.

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