Wilmington MCAS Results Slid During Pandemic

WILMINGTON, MA — Newly released results from the spring MCAS exams show more Wilmington students failing to meet expectations compared to their peers in the same grades who took the standardized tests before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education said Tuesday.

The percentage of students receiving a score of "meeting expectations" or higher dropped over ten percent in the average test versus 2019, the most recent previous year the test was given after the exams were skipped in 2020 amid the sudden pivot to remote learning.

The largest drop-off in Wilmington was in sixth grade math. The percentage of sixth graders who met or exceeded expectations in math was 41 percent, down from 70 in 2019.

In math, the percentage of third through eighth grade students meeting or exceeding expectations fell from 67 percent in 2019 to 46 percent in 2021, while for the English language arts tests, it dropped from 59 percent in 2019 to 56 percent in 2021.

>>MCAS Results Show Slide In Scores During Pandemic

There was a small decline on the science tests, with 50 percent of fifth and eighth grade students meeting or beating expectations, versus 53 percent in 2019.

Performance at the high school level was mixed. The percentage at least meeting expectations fell from 71 to 65 percent in math but rose from 77 to 81 percent in English language arts.

There were also improvements in third, fourth and fifth grade English and fifth grade science.

Despite the decline, Wilmington students still did better than the state as a whole. On the average test, 54 percent of Wilmington students met or exceeded expectations, down from 63 percent in 2019.

Statewide, just 42 percent of students met or exceeded expectations on the average test, down from 51 percent in 2019.

While teachers unions and some advocates have called for pausing use of the MCAS tests or eliminating their use as a graduation requirement, Gov. Charlie Baker on Monday said he would be "very aggressive about supporting the ongoing process of using diagnostic tools to ensure that kids are getting the basic education that they're entitled to."

Families will receive their child's MCAS scores after Sept. 30, the education department said.

The 2021 tests for third through eighth grades were shorter than usual, a factor the department said can cause individual student performance to vary.

Materials from State House News Service were used in this report.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.