Mass. Sees Some Gains, Losses In MCAS

The latest MCAS scores show a mixed performance among Massachusetts students.

Education officials say scores for fifth graders and high school sophomores were up compared to last year. But scores were down slightly for students in grades three, four and six.

State Education Secretary Paul Reville says he's concerned about some declines, including a 2 percent drop in language arts scores among third graders.

"Because we've got too many of our young learners starting school behind on reading," Reville said. "And evidence suggests that those gaps only grow over time. So we're nervous about that, and that's a high-priority area for us."

The results also show a narrowing of the achievement gap between minority students and white students.

"We're eager to see stronger gains across the board," Reville said. "On the other hand, this reflects incremental progress that's due to strengthened standards we've had the past year, better data getting to teachers."

The state will release district results later this month.