MCAS Test Results: Find Out How Wilmington Students Fared

WILMINGTON, MA — When the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) released its spring 2022 MCAS test results Thursday, officials noted a decline in English Language Arts scores over the previous year, but more encouraging results in math and science.

According to the data, English Language Arts (ELA) declined by 5 percent among students in Grades 3 through 8, and 6 percent in Grade 10, compared to 2021, when a "half test" was administered in younger grades because of the pandemic.

Statewide, according to 2022 results, only 41 percent of students in Grades 3 through 8 were meeting or exceeding expectations in ELA.

However, in Wilmington Public Schools, 45 percent of students in Grades 3 through 8 were meeting or exceeding expectations in ELA. That is down from 56 percent who were meeting or exceeding expectations in ELA the previous year.

In Wilmington, 71 percent of students in 10th grade were meeting or exceeding expectations in ELA, according to the 2022 test. That number is down from 81 percent in 2021.

In math, statewide scores increased 6 percent in Grades 3 through 8, though declined 2 percent in Grade 10, according to DESE. The agency pointed out that the decline in Grade 10 is less than in 2021.

The statewide percentage of students in Grades 3 through 8 meeting or exceeding expectations in math this year was 39 percent.

However, the number of Wilmington students in Grades 3 through 8 who are meeting or exceeding expectations in math is 52 percent. That is up from 46 percent of students in that age bracket who were meeting or exceeding expectations in math in 2021.

Also in Wilmington, 65 percent of 10th graders are meeting or exceeding expectations in math in 2022, which is the same percentage as last year. Just 50 percent of 10th graders are meeting or exceeding expectations in math statewide.

When it comes to science and technology — 3rd and 4th graders did not test in this area —54 percent of Wilmington students in Grades 5 through 8 were meeting or exceeding expectations, compared to just 42 percent in the state.

Students in 10th grade took the "next generation" biology and introduction to physics tests for the first time this year, so it is difficult to compare their scores to science assessments from previous years, the DESE said.

State officials suggested the classroom time lost to the pandemic is a likely culprit in areas where test scores are trending downward, or have decreased in recent years.

Though it may take a few years for students to recover academically from the pandemic, officials said they are confident that ground can be made up if the right resources are in place.

"We know that with time and the right supports our students can achieve and exceed their previous success," DESE Commissioner Jeffrey Riley said. "We also continue to work with teachers and districts to improve early literacy instruction and, through deeper learning initiatives, make Massachusetts schools more relevant, engaging and creative places to be a student or teacher."

Of course, the MCAS tests remain a much-debated measure of student achievement across the state. Many districts are pushing to devalue the tests and opponents argue that reliance on test scores leads to educators teaching to the test rather than overall student learning.

Meanwhile, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted in August to increase the MCAS graduation score to 486 on both math and English competency tests. The current scores to graduate are 472 for English and 486 for math. The new standard will be in effect for students who entered 9th grade this year.