Boston MCAS scores continue to improve, exceed State gains, Gains greatest in Math and at high school level

BRIGHTON - Mayor Thomas M. Menino joined with School Committee Chair Elizabeth Reilinger and Superintendent Thomas W. Payzant to announce the results of the May 2003 MCAS exams, showing gains which match or exceed average statewide improvement in almost every subject area and grade level.

The announcement was made with Commissioner of Education David P. Driscoll and Board of Education Chairman James Peyser at the Edison Middle School in Brighton. The Edison was selected to host the announcement after increasing the number of students scoring in Proficient and Advanced (Levels 3 and 4) and.reducing the number of students scoring in the Warning category (Level 1).

Mayor Menino thanked Commissioner Driscoll and Chairman Peyser for choosing Boston for the announcement.

"I am pleased that the state has once again selected to hold its MCAS press conference in a Boston Public School to highlight the tremendous strides we are making at all grade levels, especially in grade 10 - the 'high-stakes' grade," said Mayor Thomas M. Menino. "Just five years ago, the majority of Boston 10th graders failed the MCAS. Today we can cheer that majority of students in 10th grade have passed. This rise in MCAS scores is a sure sign that our extensive efforts are taking hold and all the hard work on the part of teachers, students and parents is paying off."

Students in grade 10, the grade that must pass in order to graduate from high school, made the greatest gains on the tests. The results showed that 64% of students in the Class of 2005 passed the Mathematics exam, up from 48% in 2002. The results also show that 70% of students passed the English Language Arts (ELA) exam in grade 10, up from 64% in 2002. For the same time period, the statewide average increased by 2% on the ELA exams and 4% on the Mathematics exams.

Compared to 1998, the first year in which the test was administered, the improvement is even more dramatic for tenth graders. Students that year passed the Mathematics test at a rate of 25% while 43% passed the English test. The BPS has shown steady improvement every year since then, reaching this year's high. Also, the percent of students scoring in the Proficient and Advanced levels, the two highest categories on the exams, has increased steadily. This year, 37% of grade 10 students scored in Proficient and Advanced on the Mathematics test, up from and 24% last year while 36% scored in those top two categories on the ELA test, up from 34% last year.

School Committee Chair Elizabeth Reilinger said that the success was not only at the tenth grade.

"Our goal was to accelerate student academic performance in Boston by focusing on teaching and learning and the May results demonstrate that we have come a long way in accomplishing that," she said. "Our rate of improvement meets and more often exceeds the gains made by students statewide. These results reinforce our commitment to providing students with the knowledge and support that they need to succeed in the 21st century."

Results for BPS students were most favorable on the Grade 7 ELA exam, with 84% of students scoring at Level 2 or higher, up two percentage points from the year before. Despite a slight decrease over last year, Grade 3 Reading scores also remain among the highest in the district, with 79% of students passing this test.

Superintendent Payzant said that the consistent focus on English and math literacy is paying off.

"These results show what an urban district can do when the concentration is placed on instruction," he said. "The gains that we've seen from our students on the MCAS exams across the subjects are a credit to our students and all of the adults who support them in and out of the classroom every day."

The results also indicate the effectiveness of Boston's focus on improved mathematics instruction in recent years:

• Grade 6 Mathematics: gain of 12 percentage points for students passing: up from 37% last year to 49% this year, compared to a 4-point average gain statewide.
• Grade 4 Mathematics: gain of 7 percentage points for students passing: up from 55% last year to 62% this year, compared to a 3-point average gain statewide.

To view the complete results for the Boston Public Schools, please visit the MCAS Guide page in the Teaching & Learning Section.

The results of the Spring 2003 MCAS retests for students in the Class of 2003 and 2004 will be released by the Department of Education later this month.

Contact: Jonathan Palumbo, Office of Communications, 617-635-9265