4th Grade MCAS Math and Reading Proficiency Rates

Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) is the Commonwealth's statewide standards-based assessment program. (Learn mroe about MCAS)

This map shows fourth grade reading and math proficiency rate in each school in 2010 and 2015. Pink-purple color refers to results in 2015. Yellow-red indicates results in 2010. Research shows a positive relationship between reading and mathmatics proficiency and college success.

Facts: Math

  • The average 4th grade math proficiency rate in 2010 is 49.5%. This number increased to 55.3% in 2015.
  • The math proficiency rate ranged from 0% to 95.3% in 2010, and 0% to 93% in 2015.

         Reading

  • In 2010, average reading proficiency rate is higher than math proficiency rate (55.1%). It ranged from 2.44% to 95.3%.
  • In 2015, average reading proficiency rate is still higher than math (60.4%). It ranged from 0% to 95%.

Fun playing: Open “Schools” layer, click to see a table for 6-yrs statistics. You can always view school name when moving your mouse over school points. Click on circles to see school name as math/reading proficiency rate.

Definition: Fourth grade reading/math proficiency rate from MCAS, 2010-2016 school years

Data Source: Mass Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 2010-2016 MCAS Reports

Footnote: MCAS refers to Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment system. It is a statewide standards-based assessment program, that State and federal law mandates that all students who are enrolled in the tested grades and who are educated with Massachusetts public funds participate in it. The proficiency rate is calculated as total number of students who got Advanced/Proficient divided by total students who participated in MCAS. The final categories (very high/high/moderate/low/very low) are determined by sorting all schools within Boston metro into quintiles based on their proficiency rates. The top 20% of the schools were identified as “very high”. Conversely, the least 20% is categorized as “very low”. Some students who participated in the PARCC test were not included. Over the six years period, some schools were closed/opened/moved, so that it’s hard to track over the past six years for those newly opened/closed schools. The time range only applies to schools that were continuously operating from 2010 to 2016. The animation averaged the proficiency rates within certain pixels and displayed by time series. Data in 2015 and 2016 is not complete.

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