Marblehead — The Marblehead School District presented 2024 MCAS results for students in the high‑needs subgroup and described a set of academic and programmatic responses to raise achievement, Assistant Superintendent Ferreira told the School Committee on Jan. 9.

Ferreira said the district’s analysis showed that "the majority of our students are in our high needs students are in the partially meeting category," and that many of those students were on the “cusp” of meeting expectations — within a few questions of a higher performance band.

The presentation, billed as "Understanding MCAS Data for Students 2024: Analyzing the Impact of Our High Needs Learners," compared Marblehead’s high‑needs performance to state averages and to a set of demographically similar districts. Ferreira said that, overall, Marblehead’s results for 2024 were roughly comparable to statewide trends and that some grades and subjects showed noteworthy growth in student growth percentiles (SGPs).

District staff emphasized several responses: targeted Multi‑Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) for students identified as on the cusp of meeting expectations; alignment of individualized education program (IEP) goals to standards; continued rollout of new literacy and math curricula; increased professional development for special‑education and co‑teaching staff; and external consulting to strengthen in‑district language‑based and therapeutic programs.

Ferreira said the district had contracted with outside providers for program review and support and planned further observations and professional development across the year. She also reported a compliance update for special education: "we've received a letter from the Department of Education about our corrective action plan... and they have approved us as being compliant in all 6 areas," she said.

Committee members asked for further investigation of tenth‑grade SGP declines noted in the presentation, and asked staff to disaggregate data by program and grade to identify where interventions should be prioritized. The presenter said academic reviews from a vendor called Academic Discoveries were due in February and that follow‑up work would be built into the spring budget and programming discussions.

The district said it would continue to collect building‑level data, hold teacher‑leader data meetings, and seek family input through surveys and office hours. Ferreira and other administrators described the work as ongoing and framed the MCAS data as one of several measures to guide instruction.

The committee did not take a vote on policy changes at the meeting; staff said additional reports and specific budget requests would follow.