The Life Cycle of an ELA Item outlines the test development process for passages and items.
Each ELA test question is aligned and coded to the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks. More information may be found on the ELA Item Alignment and Coding webpage.
A brief MCAS ELA Essay Scoring PowerPoint was created to provide further information to educators about MCAS ELA essay expectations, especially for narrative writing at the elementary and middle school levels.
Practice tests for all MCAS tests may be found on the MCAS Resource Center English Language Arts Practice Tests webpage . The practice tests will include examples of the various item types for both the paper-based and computer-based tests.
The Student Tutorial is to help students become familiar with how to navigate the testing environment for the computer-based tests, (e.g., advancing, going back, tool bar, embedded supports, accommodations, and item types).
Each ELA MCAS item is aligned to a cognitive skill level, based on Norman Webb's Depth of Knowledge levels, which are described on the Cognitive Skill Level Descriptions for ELA MCAS Items webpage.
Last Updated: March 19, 2025