Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Assessment Mcas topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Auburn reviews MCAS results, emphasizes growth measures and next steps for curriculum and parent supports
Summary
Teaching-and-learning staff reviewed Sept. 29 MCAS release data, noting statewide declines and particular drops in grade 10; the district emphasized Student Growth Percentiles, planned item analysis, new math curriculum work, iReady diagnostics and development of parent resources.
District teaching-and-learning leaders presented the recently released MCAS results and described next steps to analyze student performance and support improvement.
Presenters said statewide results show modest gains in some grades but declines in others; grade 10 performance fell substantially compared with 2024. The state characterized the overall results as "sobering," and the district signaled it will do a deeper item analysis to separate instructional issues from reporting effects. The presenter described MCAS as a "photo in the album" of student progress — useful but not the only measure of a student's work.
The district described Student Growth Percentiles (SGP) and why they matter: 1–39% is considered low growth, 40–59% typical or moderate growth, and 60–99% high growth. The presenter said several grade-level and subgroup SGPs are in the acceptable 40–59% range and that some groups exceeded that range, while a few areas (mid-30s) warrant attention.
Committee members raised questions about opt-outs and scoring. The committee was informed that incomplete or non-completed tests are recorded in results; the presenter said parent reports will be mailed and that the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is revising its plans for an online portal.
Administrators described concrete next steps: a district-level item analysis, targeted professional development (including math and writing PD this week), rollout and expanded use of diagnostic tools (iReady at middle school and piloting at the high school), and work on parent-facing resources so families can better understand new problem-solving approaches. The presenter said they will meet with department leaders and principals to dig deeper into the data and return to the committee with findings and proposed interventions.
The committee asked the administration to provide accessible parent resources explaining how new math strategies work and how to interpret SGPs; the presenter agreed to coordinate with vendors and principals to gather and distribute those materials.
