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Westford schools report dip in MCAS performance; district cites writing and pandemic cohorts
Summary
The Westford School Committee reviewed four-year MCAS data showing declines in some high-school metrics and writing scores. District leaders said cohort effects from COVID and lost intervention staff likely contributed and outlined curriculum and screening steps to address gaps.
Courtney, the district's MCAS presenter, told the Westford School Committee on Dec. 1 that grade-10 results show a four-year drop in the share of students meeting or exceeding expectations — from the mid-80s in earlier years to about 78% in the most recent report. "We did have a dip in 78% of exceeding and meeting standards this year, opposed to the last 3 years where we were looking at 84%, 87%, 88%, and now we've dipped down to a 78%," Courtney said during the presentation.
The presentation highlighted consistent strengths in English language arts (grammar, essay structure) and in math areas such as geometry and algebraic…
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