Dennis-Yarmouth reports modest MCAS gains but flags high-school achievement gaps and chronic absenteeism

On Nov. 24, 2025, Dennis-Yarmouth Regional School District leaders presented the district’s 2025 MCAS accountability results, citing modest gains in growth measures while warning that high-school achievement and chronic absenteeism remain problem areas.

Superintendent Mark Smith framed the presentation as a districtwide "30,000-foot" view and said the data will drive both short-term and multiyear strategy. "This is the second year in a row where we're making consistent progress," Smith said, but he added that districtwide achievement percentages remain lower than desired.

Sherry Santini, director of humanities, reported a 5-percentage-point increase districtwide in the share of students meeting or exceeding expectations on the 2025 ELA MCAS and singled out double-digit grade-level gains in grades 3, 6 and 7. "There was a 5 percent increase overall from last year and an increase of 10% to grades 3, 6 and 7," Santini said.

Betsy Ponius, director of STEM instruction, said the district’s overall percentage of students meeting or exceeding expectations in math rose 2 percentage points to 32% this year, and that Grade 3 math performance—51% meeting or exceeding—surpassed the state’s Grade 3 average. "The overall percentage for students meeting and exceeding expectations in 2025 went up 2 percent from last year to 32 percent," Ponius said.

District leaders highlighted school-level improvements: Ezra Baker Innovation (+13% in ELA year-over-year), Margaritie Small (+6%), and Station Avenue Elementary (+10%). Presenters tied gains to multi-year work including curriculum review, learning walks, targeted professional development and implementation of adopted curricular programs (Amplify ELA and other materials).

At the same time, Smith and other presenters flagged two continuing concerns: achievement at the high-school level and chronic absenteeism. Smith noted that some high-school indicators still "are not meeting the levels that we want," and the district’s chronic-absence rate was described during the presentation as hovering around 20–25%.

Committee members raised questions about how DESE translates progress into the report-card "points" (a 0–4 scale tied to benchmarks), cohort versus grade-level views, and whether recent statewide test changes (in 2022) affected trends. Smith pointed to a new data platform that enables cohort tracking and emphasized that the district will use cohort analysis and school-level presentations in the coming meetings to identify where instructional supports and reallocations are needed.

The committee scheduled follow-up school-level presentations in the next two meetings (elementary schools next; secondary schools to follow), and Smith indicated that many of the district’s strategic and budget decisions (including FY27 planning) will align with the findings from this MCAS review.