The Revere School Committee on Oct. 21 heard a district presentation on 2025 MCAS and related accountability measures that showed uneven results across schools and student groups. District staff said five schools made “moderate progress” toward improvement targets and six made “substantial progress,” while district leaders flagged declines at the high‑school level and noted chronic absenteeism remains a major driver of lower scores.

District staff said the accountability score combines multiple measures — achievement, growth, progress toward English‑language proficiency, high‑school completion, chronic absenteeism and advanced course completion — and showed mixed results across the district. “The district made moderate progress toward our improvement targets,” Dr. Mokaba said during the presentation.

The report highlighted Romney Marsh Academy as a notable improvement case. District presenters said Romney Marsh’s percent of possible points rose substantially year over year (staff noted last year’s contribution of prior data in the two‑year accountability calculation) and that the school reduced failures while increasing the share of students meeting or exceeding expectations. District staff credited classroom observation work, curriculum coaching, PGT (professional growth time) cycles and a DESE‑supported grant for part of the progress.

Officials outlined district priorities going forward: continued implementation of new curriculum resources (including Illustrative Math in middle grades), targeted support for grade‑8 science and middle‑school math, ongoing attention to students with disabilities, and sustained efforts to reduce chronic absenteeism. Dr. Kelly, the superintendent, said the district will continue to use classroom‑level walkthrough data and teacher collaboration time to refine instruction and supports.

The committee and staff discussed the statewide drop in grade‑10 results after a change in how the test is counted for graduation. Board members and staff noted a statewide decline in grade‑10 ELA (about a 6 percentage‑point drop statewide) and a smaller drop in math, and said some of the decline may reflect students taking the exam less seriously after it ceased to be a graduation competency determination. Staff said state analyses found a higher share of off‑topic responses on constructed‑response items this year and emphasized the correlation between chronic absenteeism and lower scaled scores.

Committee members asked for more granular local analyses — including disaggregated MCAS item types (short answer vs. open response), subgroup patterns and comparisons with AP/dual‑enrollment results — so the district can identify instructional gaps and target supports. The superintendent noted the district will provide interim assessment and other local metrics to supplement MCAS data as staff and teachers dig into root causes.

The committee also voted to approve the district and school improvement plans as presented; principals, assistant principals and curriculum directors remained in the room during the discussion. Staff said those plans align to the three strategic focus areas the committee approved last July: teaching/learning/leading; safety/belonging/well‑being; and community engagement/communications.

District staff also noted funding changes tied to past grants: a middle‑school support grant that supported curriculum work has ended, and a smaller implementation grant this year is $40,000 (down from $50,000 previously), but staff said much of the capacity‑building resources remain in place.

Committee members said they want follow‑up reports and additional data — for example, AP scores, dual‑enrollment participation, interim assessment trends and attendance outreach plans — so the committee can track progress and better understand which interventions are producing results.

Looking ahead, staff said they will continue school‑level walkthroughs, teacher data cycles and targeted partnerships (including the Great Schools Partnership and DESE supports) and will bring more disaggregated data to the committee in coming months.