The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education

High School Accountability in 2019

At the January 22, 2019 meeting of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (Board), I will share with you the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's (Department) plan for handling the grade 10 assessment transition with respect to our district and school accountability system.

In the spring of 2019, all grade 10 public school students in Massachusetts (the graduating class of 2021) will be taking the next-generation MCAS in English language arts and mathematics for the first time. In prior meetings of the Board, our discussions have centered on how the assessment transition would affect an individual student's attainment of the Competency Determination (CD) that is required for high school graduation. In February 2018, the Board amended the CD regulations, establishing the interim CD standard for students in the classes of 2021 and 2022: a similar level of achievement to the required standard in the legacy MCAS tests. This ensures fairness for students during the transitional period and allows the Board to consider the next-generation test results before setting a new CD standard for the classes of 2023 and beyond.

The Department will take a similar approach in using the 2019 grade 10 assessment results in the district and school accountability calculations. The 2019 results will be linked to the legacy grade 10 MCAS results and 2019 improvement targets will be set as they were in the first year of the new district and school accountability system.

Senior Associate Commissioner Russell Johnston and Associate Commissioner Rob Curtin will be available at the Board meeting to answer your questions.