Brockton Students Score Lower Than State Average On MCAS Test

BROCKTON, MA — Massachusetts has released results of the latest MCAS test, which is used by the state as a guide to measure students' academic performance. Across the board, Brockton students scored lower than state average in all grades and subjects. However, slight year-to-year improvement was seen in some grades within the Brockton School District.

In math, 22 percent of Brockton students in grades 3 through 8 met or exceeded expectations in math, which is 2 percent higher than last year. However, their test scores remain below the state average of 49 percent.

In 10th grade, 26 percent of Brockton's students met or exceeded expectations in math, compared to 79 percent of 10th-graders who scored proficient or advanced last year. This year's state average for meeting or exceeding math expectations is 59 percent.

In English, 27 percent of Brockton's third- through eighth-graders met or exceeded expectations on the MCAS, compared to the state average of 52 percent. Still, this is a slight improvement for Brockton over last year, when 26 percent students in those grades at least met expectations in English, according to data released Tuesday.

Tenth-graders scored below the state average in English, as well — 34 percent met or exceeded expectations, as opposed to the state average of 61 percent.

In science, only fifth- and eighth-grade students are tested among the younger students, in addition to grade 10. District-wide, those grades did more poorly this year than the state average — 25 percent of Brockton fifth-graders met or exceeded expectations, compared to the 49-percent state average; 20 percent met or exceeded expectations, compared to the 46-percent state average; and 48 percent of 10th-graders met or exceeded expectations, compared to the 74-percent state average.