Everett High School (EHS) came through with a great round of test scores in aggregate on this year’s MCAS test – especially compared to other schools, with EHS outperforming high schools in suburban communities like Melrose and North Andover.
EHS Principal Erick Naumann reported to the School Committee on Monday night that the high school had shown very good results this year, surpassing all of the neighboring communities and several toney suburbs as well.
“We don’t need the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) coming in and giving us assistance,” he said. “That’s a positive thing and that’s the first thing to look at.”
However, it was the rest of the presentation that grabbed the attention of many.
EHS’s results showed that 45 percent of students were partially meeting targets, which is the lingo for the new MCAS test – which has been dubbed MCAS 2.0. Last year, when the test was taken, it was the first year of the revamped test, and so many terms regarding the MCAS have changed, including the rating of schools as Level 1 or Level 2. Now, each school and each sub-group in the schools (such as race, gender or English Language Learner status) has targets set by the state. The school is measured on whether or not they meet these targets, and what percentage of kids meet the target.
In EHS’s case, 45 percent of the students partially met their targets.
That is amplified with context.
For surrounding communities, the scores were:
- Revere High, 16%
- Malden High, 17%
- Brockton High, 24%
- Lynn English, 34%
- Chelsea, 21%
Naumann noted that EHS outperformed all of their neighbors and comparable schools by nearly 20 percentage points. The more impressive piece, he said, was that EHS – a very diverse, urban school – outperformed many suburbs.
Some of the schools that EHS outperformed, Naumann said, were:
- North Reading High, 42%
- North Andover High, 40%
- Arlington High, 38%
- Melrose High, 31%
- Beverly High, 32%
Everett High was also ranked in the 20th percentile. That means that the school performed better on the MCAS than 20 percent of the schools across the Commonwealth. As a comparison, Revere High was in the 18th percentile and Chelsea was in the 7th percentile.
“There are 57 schools across the Commonwealth that need support and Everett High was not one of them,” Naumann said.
Supt. Fred Foresteire said they were very proud of the progress at EHS.
“We’re very proud of what they’re doing at the high school when you look at our demographics as well,” he said. “It’s a credit to our staff and to our students, who are really ready to work.”