'Elated': How Brockton middle school conquered MCAS, beating the state average in writing
BROCKTON — Over 100 middle and elementary school students in Brockton earned awards last week at North Middle School for scoring at least a 500 on the MCAS exams for English language arts or mathematics, surpassing their scores from the previous year.
Any score of 500 or above on an MCAS test is considered meeting expectations for a student’s grade level, and a score of over 530 is considered exceeding expectations. On the English exam, 73 North students earned at least a 500, and 46 students scored at least a 500 on the math exam.
“When the MCAS scores came in, the school was elated with how much students had improved from the previous year,” said North Middle School Principal Alison Ramsay. “The staff wanted to recognize those students for their hard work, especially in writing, where they beat the state average.”
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How did North Middle Schoolers do on MCAS?
Eighth grade students at North Middle School scored higher than the school district and state averages on the essay and narrative writing sections of the ELA test, and scored higher than the rest of the district on the multiple-choice sections of both tests, Ramsay said.
Meanwhile seventh graders beat the state and district averages on the essay portion.
“All year, teachers worked hard to motivate and deepen the learning opportunities for students that would allow them to grapple with grade-level texts and focus on the rigor of the standards,” said Ramsay.
Although no students earned the highest possible score of 560 on the tests, students DJonina De Andrade, Victoria Jensen and Alexeah McKoy were recognized for “exceeding expectations” on the ELA test.
Almost all of the students who received awards were from North Middle School, with one student from Davis Elementary School and one from Brockton Virtual Learning Academy.
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The students ate ice cream paid for by Title 1 and took home hoodies picturing the North Middle School knight mascot and "500 Club” that were sponsored by Bourne Auto.
Last school year, 14 students were inducted as the founding members of Brockton's 560 Club, which recognized students who received the highest MCAS score of 560.
Scores slowly recovering from COVID learning loss
Schools across Brockton and Massachusetts are still recovering from pandemic-era learning losses, and are making a slow return to pre-pandemic achievement levels.
According to the MCAS data, less than a fourth of the roughly 6,000 students in Brockton from grades three to eight who participated in MCAS met or exceeded expectations on the science, math and English exams. Both in Brockton and statewide, the percentage of students exceeding or meeting expectations is well below pre-pandemic levels.
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In 2023, 23% of Brockton students in grades 3-8 met or exceeded expectations on the English exam, while 19% did so in math and 18% in science. The remaining students either partially met expectations or did not meet expectations.
The 2023 scores marked a small improvement from 2022 for BPS, when 21% in grades 3-8 met or exceeded expectations in English, 16% in math and 17% in science.
“Pandemic learning loss is a national problem,” said Massachusetts Secretary of Education Patrick A. Tutwiler. “We know there is still much to be done, and we will continue to improve and strengthen our schools until every student can access the supports and resources they need to succeed.”
This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: North Middle School in Brockton celebrates its MCAS high performers
