Rockland schools cite steady ELA growth, highlight multilingual and special-education gains; math flagged for urgent focus
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Summary
At its Dec. 8 meeting the Rockland school committee reviewed 2024–25 MCAS results showing district ELA growth near the state average and notable subgroup gains — including strong outcomes for multilingual learners and pockets of growth for students with disabilities — while math performance and chronic absenteeism were named urgent priorities.
Rockland Public Schools officials reviewed the district’s 2024–25 MCAS results on Dec. 8, highlighting steady English language arts growth and strong subgroup gains while flagging math performance and attendance as urgent areas for improvement.
The presentation, led by district administrators, showed the district’s average student growth percentile for ELA was 43 and for math 41, metrics administrators said put Rockland in a “good growth” range. "MCAS is one data point," said Dr. Curtis Whipple, stressing that growth measures matter alongside proficiency rates.
The district reported several subgroup successes. Presenters said fourth-grade students with disabilities posted a 51 student growth percentile and that, across grades 3–8, the average growth percentile for students with disabilities was 43. Multilingual learners drew particular attention: the district reported a 100% participation rate among 10th graders and said formerly English-learners in 10th grade averaged a scaled score of 480, a signal administrators called "something to celebrate." "We are outperforming the state in many grades," one presenter said.
Despite those positives, officials singled out math as the most urgent academic area. The district reported declines in math achievement compared with last year and the state; administrators said the pattern is partly post-pandemic and that results can vary year to year as MCAS emphasizes different skill sets each cycle. "Math post-pandemic dips seem to be stabilizing," a district official said, but added that targeted, schoolwide Tier 1 interventions are needed so all students — not only those in pull-out programs — get more consistent support.
Administrators described steps already under way: grade-level professional learning communities, adoption or expanded use of curriculum and diagnostic tools (Keys to Literacy for ELA and IXL for math diagnostics), more frequent formative checks, and curriculum reviews at each grade. The district also noted plans to integrate multistep writing and problem-solving strategies across subjects and to review math curriculum materials.
Attendance emerged as a parallel concern. Officials reported rising chronic absenteeism since the pandemic and said the district will increase interventions to improve day-to-day engagement and reduce tardiness, which administrators linked to lower student learning time and assessment outcomes.
The presentation included discussion of data caveats: small subgroup sizes can skew percentages, and student mobility ("churn") affects cohort comparisons. Administrators said some trends will take multiple years to fully materialize and committed to using MCAS alongside local diagnostics and grades to track progress.
The committee took no further formal action on the MCAS presentation that evening; the session continued with other agenda items including policy and budget votes.
