Dear District Leaders, Educators, and Community Stakeholders:
We’re excited to announce that Massachusetts has successfully administered its first year of next-generation MCAS tests in English language arts and Mathematics for grades 3–8, including the use of computer-based tests for fourth and eighth grades.
We want to thank our school leaders and educators, our test development partners, ESE staff, and students and parents from across the state for helping to ensure that this first year went smoothly and will produce data that is useful to teachers and families.
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Progress toward computer-based testing
- Next-generation and legacy MCAS testing ended this month for all subject areas and grades. More than 95 percent of fourth and eighth graders took the assessment online, and many schools opted to use computer-based tests in other grades, too. Close to 250,000 students took computer-based tests in both English language arts and Mathematics.
- For next year’s tests (spring 2018), the expectation is that all schools will administer the following tests using the computer-based format:
- Grade 4 ELA and Mathematics
- Grade 5 ELA, Mathematics, and Science and Technology/Engineering (STE)
- Grade 7 ELA and Mathematics
- Grade 8 ELA, Mathematics, and STE
- For grades 3 and 6, schools may choose to administer either the computer-based or paper-based tests next spring.
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ESE to release preliminary MCAS data in June and July
- This month and in July, ESE will release preliminary data for the spring 2017 MCAS tests in English language arts, Mathematics, and grades 5 and 8 Science and Technology/Engineering. The first release will include full preliminary results for grade 10 English language arts only. For all other grades and subjects, only selected-response items (such as multiple-choice items) will be reported. Constructed-response and essay items will be included with full preliminary results in August. Student growth data will be available with the release of official results in October.
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Next-generation MCAS standard-setting committee begins work in August
- Beginning August 14, ESE will conduct a week-long standard-setting event for the next-generation MCAS tests in grades 3–8 English language arts and Mathematics to identify appropriate cut scores for the tests’ four achievement levels. Panels of Massachusetts educators and other stakeholders will set the standards in coordination with expert facilitators. Over 200 educators and stakeholders from across the state have applied to participate.
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