Assessments

Important Changes to the MCAS Exams
As school districts across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts were closed for the remainder of the 2019–2020 school year due to the Coronavirus epidemic, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) altered options regarding standardized testing requirements for students currently in or about to enter high school.

Juniors
At the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education’s meeting on Tuesday, April 20, it was determined that the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will modify the state graduation requirements for students in grade 11 (Class of 2022) so that they will not need to pass the MCAS English Language Arts (ELA) or Mathematics tests in order to earn their Competency Determination (CD).

Simply put, students in the Class of 2022 will not need to pass MCAS exams to be eligible to graduate.

However, grade 11 students may choose to participate in the MCAS ELA and Mathematics tests for the purposes of student scholarships, awards, and special programs from the state. Current grade 11 Class of 2022 students who decide to take the MCAS exams may also choose whether they wish to take the exams in spring 2021 or fall 2021.

More detailed information has been shared directly with Class of 2022 students and their families.

Sophomores
Students in the Class of 2023 (our current sophomores) will take both the English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics MCAS Exams as 10th graders during a May 2021 testing window that spans from Monday, May 3rd – Friday, June 11th. We are currently working on a proctoring schedule that allows for a compliant, socially distanced testing experience for all sophomores to take both of these exams in May and June 2021. 

The state Board of Education has also determined that students in the Classes of 2022 and 2023 will not take the Science MCAS Exam. Students in the Class of 2024 (our current freshmen) will take the Science MCAS Exam at the end of their 9th or 10th grade depending on which science they elect to take. Our freshmen who are currently enrolled in either Honors Biology or Honors Physics will take their Science MCAS in a compliant, socially distanced manner during the week of June 7th.

You can access more information about student tutorials, practice tests, and other resources at the MCAS Resource Center.