MCAS Comprehensive Rankings: A Caution
Although I spent quite a bit of time collating this data, and feel it has significant value, I'd also like to point out a very simple fact: MCAS results are just PART of what makes a good school system. Personally, I feel there is much more to a good school system than test scores. Below are good questions to ask any community member of a potential town/school system you may be relocating to. These rankings are NOT a substitute for doing your own research, merely a guide for where you may want to start. 1)How old are the schools?
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| MCAS Tests Don't Tell you Everything You Want to Know |
This question is important for two reasons. First, if the schools are old, the town is likely considering upgrading or building new ones, and these have tax implications, as well as Prop 2.5 override implications. If they are new, the town may be more fiscally stable, with more of its finances in order. All school systems require money to innovate and improve, building new buildings can sometimes interfere with that, if the town is strapped financially. Older buildings also may not have amenities that younger buildings may have. 2)How involved are the parents? I personally believe that without the support of parents, very few school systems can succeed. Active PTA groups, strong school committees, and a populace that supports their children as well as the teachers is key to a strong school system. No parent, in my opinion, should leave the responsibility of teaching their child just to the schools. As such, what you do at home will have a significant impact over your child's success at school and beyond. 3)How many school related Proposition 2.5 overrides have been asked for, passed or not passed? As noted above, towns that pass overrides on Proposition 2.5 for the schools are more likely to have powerful grass-roots involvement in the school system, and that is usually beneficial. Financial support for schools is an indicator of the community support of the various towns. 4)What kinds of extra curricular activities are also available by the town? Many studies have shown that extra curricular activities are important to fostering school success. Certain towns, in these tough times, may be cutting back on important programs that may affect their rankings in the future.
Consolidated MCAS Scores Methodology
These rankings do not include each and every school in the commonwealth. I created this to help rank towns PUBLIC schools systems in their entirety. Since most Charter schools are not available for open enrollment they don't make the list. The MCAS results for each town are already available, and this ranking is based on the 2009 numbers as published on-line at Boston.com. No charter schools (which typically do not provide K-12 services) nor vocational schools (same issue) are ranked. Where towns share schools at some level (such as a shared high school) efforts have been made to add the regional school scores to all districts it represents. As there are two-3 test per grade, and four grades that are tested, each year provides about 10 different scores to examine if one wished to look at an entire towns score. I found that difficult and time consuming, so I consolidated it. It is worth noting, that the Boston.com rankings are laid out to make difficult the very consolidation I have done on purpose: to prevent parents form jumping to conclusions about school systems based on solely and MCAS number. The rankings take each Math and English score of each grade and combine them, and then each grade is combined and the four scores are then divided by four (1 for each exam respectively). No Science exam results are included. I have noticed, in doing my research, that from year to year small changes in scores can make big differences in the rankings, so when the 2010 rankings come out I will collate them as a separate entity and and also average both years together. A two year ranking will likely be a more reliable indicator of MCAS success than the single year collected here. Sample: Rank Score School 50. --153.5-- Lincoln Public Schools 51. --153.0-- Canton Public Schools 52.-- 153.0 -- Ipswich Public Schools 53.-- 152.0 -- Hanover Public Schools 54.-- 151.8 -- Ashland Public Schools 55.-- 151.3 -- North Attleborough Public Schools
Why Are The MCAS Results Encrypted?
My 2009 Consolidated MCAS Rankings are below, but they are encrypted, and you'll have to email me (at matt_heisler@heislerandmattson.com) for the code. This is primarily to protect this work from any misuse and unauthorized distribution.
Click Here to Show the encrypted results!Do Good Things Today! Matt Heisler
