Threat of Winter Storm on Tuesday Postpones MCAS Testing

Due to the expected winter storm on Tuesday, the state announced that the MCAS English Language Arts Composition test for students in grades 4, 7 and 10 has been postponed until Monday, March 25.

Since much of Massachusetts is expecting a winter storm on Tuesday, and with it the possibility of numerous school closings or delayed openings, state education officials have gone ahead and postponed certain MCAS exams until next week. The MCAS English Language Arts Composition test for students in grades 4, 7 and 10 will instead be conducted Monday, March 25, the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education announced on its website Monday. Originally the composition test was scheduled for Tuesday, March 19, but state officials said it was important for all schools to administer the test on the same day, whether or not they were affected by the storm. If there is school on Tuesday, any ELA Reading Comprehension test sessions …

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Schools Lay Out Action Plans to Improve on MCAS

Curious what the district is doing to improve MCAS scores? On the math end, Superintendent Joe Mastrocola says some financial investment is needed.

School administrators frankly admit there's room for improvement in students' MCAS scores, particularly on math and science, but to a certain extent that's because elementary students are still adjusting to a new math curriculum, they say. McCarthy School Principal Ray Smoyer, who reviewed elementary students' results with the School Committee recently, said the district went into Math in Focus expecting scores would dip as students adjusted to the new and unfamiliar scope and sequence aspects of the curriculum. To their credit, he said, some grades actually performed slightly better than expected. Superintendent Joe Mastrocola and a team of administrators walked through both the high and low points of this past spring's MCAS results with …

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B. Daubach

3:23 pm on Friday, November 16, 2012

Judging by the deafening silence in response to my last post, I guess it is fair to assume that nobody really knows a FAIR and REALISTIC way to institute merit pay for teachers...just as I thought.   more ›

School Board to Review 2012 MCAS Results

The Peabody School Committee and school administrators will review the district MCAS results Tuesday night from this past spring. Once again, Peabody students lagged behind state averages on math and science.

School officials will formally review the district MCAS results from this past spring during the School Committee's Tuesday night session. Superintendent Joseph Mastrocola, Assistant Superintendent Cara Murtagh and a staff leadership team will present an analysis of the results to the committee. The meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in the gymnasium at the Kiley School. Once again, Peabody students lagged behind state averages on math and science. although they did make some marginal progress over last year's scores, primarily in science and technology. On the English Language Arts (ELA) portion of the exam, Peabody again met the state average of 69 percent for proficient or higher scores, but still trailed behind in math by the same …

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Here's How Grades 3-5 Did on the MCAS

Chart is school-by-school from this past spring's results.

Yesterday, we took a look at district results overall on the MCAS from this past spring, and today we're looking at just the elementary grades. In elementary school, only grades 3-5 are tested on the MCAS. The English Language Arts component is just reading for third-graders while fifth-graders are introduced to the science and technology/engineering section for the first time. The state average for proficient or higher in grades 3-5 on ELA is 60 percent, math is 56 percent and science is 52 percent. In the aggregate, Peabody elementary pupils scored 61 percent proficient or higher on ELA (the same as last year), 49 percent on math (3 points down from 2011) and right at 52 percent on science (3 points up from 2011). Sixty-one percent of …

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Peabody Schools See Slight Improvement on MCAS

This year's MCAS results showed only marginal improvement for Tanner City students overall, and nearly all of it on the science and technology/engineering section, which is still below state average.

According to the 2012 MCAS results released by state education officials Wednesday, Peabody students have made some marginal progress over last year's scores, primarily in science and technology. On the English Language Arts (ELA) portion of the exam, Peabody again meets the state average of 69 percent for proficient or higher scores, but still trails behind in math by the same margin, which is now 54 percent versus 59. Science and technology/engineering scores, however, improved to 53 percent for proficient and higher, up from 50 percent overall last year, and now trail the state average by just 1 percent. The percentage of students in need of improvement for that category has also decreased by 3 points, but is still above the state …

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Patch Facts

Five Things You Need to Know Today, March 25

Sunshine and cold expected today.

Today is Friday, March 25. Here are five things you need to know today: 1. Today's weather: The National Weather Service is predicting a slight chance of snow showers before 2 p.m., then a slight chance of rain showers between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., then a slight chance of rain and snow showers after 5 p.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 39. Northwest wind between 7 and 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20 percent. On Friday night, it will be Mostly clear, with a low around 21. Northwest wind around 9 mph. 2. MCAS testing today: Peabody Public Schools students in grades 3 through 10 will continue taking their MCAS tests at school this today. The Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System test is designed to measure each individual student’…

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Patch Facts

Five Things You Need to Know Today, March 23

More rain and snow on tap; Library offers fine arts workshop.

Today is Wednesday, March 23. Here are five things you need to know today: 1. Today's weather: The National Weather Service is predicting a slight chance of rain between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., then a chance of rain and snow. Partly sunny, with a high near 39. North wind between 7 and 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30 percent. Little or no snow accumulation expected. On Wednesday night, there will be a chance of snow, mainly after 8 p.m. Cloudy, with a low around 26. East wind between 5 and 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40 percent. 2. MCAS starting today: Peabody Public Schools students in grades 3 through 10 will continue taking their MCAS tests at school this today. The Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System test is designed to…

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