3rd grade ELA MCAS Next Generation

Students meeting or exceeding expectations on 3rd grade English language arts MCAS

Definition: Percent of all students in grade 3 scoring “meeting” or “exceeding” on the English Language Arts Next Generation MCAS.

This indicator is included in the Readiness & Early Learning section of the Condition of Education in the Commonwealth Data Report. Quality early learning experiences create a strong foundation for future success and are linked to improved academic performance. Critical factors include ensuring access to high-quality early education and care, assessing school readiness, and providing full-day kindergarten to ensure all children are on track to be proficient readers by third grade.

Source: Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education: Next Generation MCAS Achievement Results Grade 3

*While comparing indicators, please keep in mind that different data sources use different definitions of student subgroups.

Blog

Rethinking Grading

March 28, 2024

Schools have assessed student learning and growth with essentially the same grading system for more than a century. Since this system was created, the field has learned so much more about the way students learn, the systemic inequities embedded in the design of traditional grading and assessment, and what type of learning leads to success in life. Grading should be aligned with what we know about the learning process, child and adolescent development, and the demands of career, college, and community life. But traditional grading is so deeply ingrained in our culture, that making changes to this system can seem like an insurmountable task. That’s why we partnered with DESE and reDesign to support five unique high schools as they interrogate their traditional grading practices and make shifts toward new systems that better measure student learning and growth.