Senior MCAS Testing

Dear Class of 2022 Community,

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) announced on April 21, 2021 that students in the Class of 2022 would not need to pass the MCAS tests in English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics in order to earn their Competency Determination (CD). DESE had already made a similar modification to the CD for MCAS Science, Technology, & Engineering test, or specifically in the case of ENSATS students, the MCAS Biology Test.

DESE further stipulated, however, that because MCAS ELA and Mathematics test scores are also used to determine eligibility for the John and Abigail Adams Scholarship and the Stanley Z. Koplik Certificate of Mastery, it is up to caregivers and students as to whether students will participate in the MCAS ELA and Mathematics tests for scholarship purposes. Grade 12 students who did not test in the spring of 2021 will have additional opportunities to take this test in November and in March 2022 to qualify for the scholarships. The Adams Scholarship is based on first-time MCAS scores. Further, Grade 12 students who test in November may have results available to them in time to learn whether they qualify for scholarships before making college enrollment decisions.

To assist Grade 12 students and their caregivers in making this decision to test or not to test, it will help to know that students need to meet the minimum threshold score for the Adams Scholarship, which is a score of Advanced on either the MCAS ELA or Mathematics test along with a minimum score of Proficient on the other MCAS ELA or Mathematics test. Obviously, Grade 12 students who score Advanced on both the MCAS ELA and the MCAS Mathematics tests are in the best position possible to qualify for the Adams Scholarship. Finally, for the Adams Scholarship, in addition to meeting the minimum score threshold (Advanced on one and Proficient on the other), DESE then uses these results to calculate the top 25 percent of ENSATS students who will receive the Adams Scholarship. DESE will then send us a list of students who, based on the criteria above, will receive the Adams Scholarship.

Here are details about the MCAS ELA and Mathematics tests to consider when deciding if your child would like to participate:

The MCAS ELA test has four sessions administered over three days, November 16th for the Composition, November 17th for Reading Comprehension, and November 18 for Reading Comprehension.
The MCAS Mathematics test has two sessions, administered over two days on November 9th, and November 10th. November will be the last administration of the MCAS Legacy ELA and Mathematics tests are the older version of the MCAS and will be a paper-based version of the MCAS tests.
We will offer after-school MCAS Legacy Prep sessions in ELA and Mathematics for ENSATS students beginning in October. More specific information about these review sessions to follow.

We understand that this is a lot of information and expect that you may have further questions. Keep in mind that if you want to forego the Adams Scholarship and Koplik Certificate entirely, DESE has waived the MCAS testing requirement for your student.

Finally, if you choose to have your student take the Grade 12 MCAS ELA and Mathematics Tests in November, please register by clicking on this Registration Form. The deadline to register is Wednesday, September 29th. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact our Data Specialist, Kim Dickson at kdickson@essextech.net.

Thank you,

September 27, 2021

Joe Marino

The Larkin Project

Senior MCAS Testing