Belmont MCAS Scores Dip In Covid-19 Year; Performance Exceeds Statewide Results

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Photo: MCAS scores in Belmont and statewide slumped.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the most recent MCAS test scores for Belmont students took a dip as the district struggled to provide a first rate education model during a worldwide pandemic. But with the exception of a sharp drop in the percentage of elementary and middle school students meeting or exceeding in math, the district performance held its own compared to scores for all Massachusetts students.

While the statewide scores showed some large discrepancies from grade to grade, “Belmont did not see the same degree of [downward] shift,” said Belmont Superintendent John Phelan at the Belmont School Committee on Tuesday, Sept. 21. Yet, Phelan said, “any shift is important to note.”

The statewide MCAS test results from the spring 2021 exam released by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education on Sept. 21 showed many more students had gaps in their knowledge of math and, to a lesser extent, English language arts, compared to students in the same grades before the COVID-19 pandemic, and fewer students meet or exceeded grade level expectations.

“Each percentage point is very, very important to us because they represent our students,” said Phelan. ”The real important work is to look at how each student … fared with this testing and use that data.”

“We tend to perform higher than the state average in all categories. So we’re thankful for that. But to be repetitive, we do have our own expectation of Belmont. We need to compare ourselves to what our goals are and that’s the work of the district moving forward,” said Phelan.

(The state did not administer MCAS tests in spring 2020, near the start of the pandemic, so the most recent year to compare with this year’s scores is 2019.)

In Belmont, 76 percent of students in grades 3-8 met Expectations or higher in English language arts in 2021, and 67 percent did so in math. Both of these represent a drop compared to 2019, when 80 percent scored at that level in English language arts and 81 percent did so in math. Still, Belmont’s 67 percent is nearly double the 34 percent of statewide students who are in the top two categories.

For 10th grade English language arts, 88 percent of students scored Meeting Expectations or higher in 2021, compared to 90 percent in 2019. In 10th grade math, 85 percent of students scored Meeting Expectations or higher in 2021, compared to 91 percent in 2019. These represent a slight drop when comparing 2019 to 2021. Like the elementary/middle school grades, Belmont high schoolers continue to exceed the scores of their state compatriots.

Phelan said the MCAS data will now be sent to the district’s academic directors and school principals to discuss how to utilize nearly $150,000 the district put aside to supporting students this year.

Having anticipated a likely drop in math scores in the early grades, Phelan said the district has allocated funds from its ESSR account – money sent by the federal government to school districts during the pandemic – to hire a pair of math coaches at the elementary level who will work primarily with third and fourth grade students. They also will be working at the middle school with students who need support.

Phelan said high school students will have less time to make up the drop in scores, the district will be reinforcing the skills all students have to know and be able to do before they leave Belmont High, said Phelan.

“We’ll be working with those students in those content areas moving forward,” he said.

MCAS Results Show Belmont High Students are Advanced and Proficient

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Photo: MCAS tests results for Belmont.

Belmont High’s student test takers demonstrated an advanced command of English and math while the registering some of the highest levels of science competence statewide, according to 2015 School and District MCAS results released by the state on Thursday, Sept. 24.

While there have been improvements with Chenery Middle School students in those scoring advanced placement, attention in science instruction will continue at the school.

And there will be a bit of a wait to get a peek at the elementary school results as the district was selected by the state last year to take the new Partnership for Assessment for Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) test. 

“Belmont High School students’ MCAS results continue to be very high, demonstrating the positive results of well-aligned curricula, high-quality instruction, and high expectations for all students,” said Janice Darias, Belmont’s assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction.

“We are very fortunate in Belmont to have such skilled educators as well as curriculum and school leaders. These MCAS scores are the result of their dedication and focus on teaching and learning for all students,” said Darias. 

According to results released by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education of tests taken in Spring 2015:

• Grade 10 students (class of 2017, current 11th grade): English and Math.

In both subjects, there is a slight increase this year in the number of students earning Advanced status. In English, 99 percent of the students scored proficient or advanced; in math, 97 percent scored proficient or advanced.

• Grade 9 students (class of 2018, current 10th grade): Introductory Physics MCAS.

There is an increase this year in the number of pupils earning advanced on this subject. 97 percent of the students scored proficient or advanced. 

Over at the Chenery Middle School:

• Grades 5 and 8 students: Science and Technology/Engineering MCAS.

The 8th grade results are relatively unchanged for the past four years. This year 76 percent earned proficient or advanced levels. In 5th grade, the district saw an increase in the number of students earning proficient or advanced in the 2014 results at 81 percent, while the 2015 results were similar to previous years with 71 percent earning proficient or advanced, a 10 percent drop in the category at the school.

“Science has been and will continue to be an area of focus for the district,” said Darius.

“We began our work on science curricula revisions and updates with the release of the revised ELA Frameworks in late 2010, which include nonfiction reading and writing in science. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is preparing to release revised state frameworks later this year, and we have already begun planning next steps for updating our curricula, especially Kindergarten through 8th grade,” said Darias.

Results for Belmont Elementary and Middle school students in grades 3 through 8 are delayed by a month as the district was selected to be part of a two-year test of PARCC. While some PARCC results have been released, Belmont students took the test on paper forms rather than via a computer format.