MCAS Testing

The Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) is a set of statewide standardized tests. Students in grades 3-8 and 10 take MCAS tests in English language arts and mathematics; students in grades 5, 8, and one high school grade (usually grade 9 or 10) take a science MCAS test. Students in grade 8 take a civics MCAS test.

Statewide testing gives families an objective measure of their child’s and school’s progress and is one way for taxpayers to see the results of their investment in schools. State test scores are just one piece of a student’s academic picture, but they provide important information. In addition, federal and state laws require statewide testing.

No.

Test contractors, DESE staff, and more than 250 educators annually all help create and review test questions.

DESE has Assessment Development Committees (ADCs) and a Bias and Sensitivity Committee (BSC) composed of classroom teachers and administrators, academic support specialists, and university faculty who edit and revise the questions. Committee members represent schools and districts from across the state, including rural, suburban, and urban communities. In addition, members are selected to represent different types of school districts, including charter schools and vocational schools.

Yes, DESE makes many previous test questions available online.

MCAS assessments are based on the state’s learning standards. Students score in one of four categories: Exceeding Expectations, Meeting Expectations, Partially Meeting Expectations, and Not Meeting Expectations. Educators from each grade level helped determine the scoring range for each category. A student’s score indicates the extent to which they are meeting expectations for their grade level. MCAS tests are not graded on a curve.

MCAS tests are given on a computer and have a variety of question formats, including multiple choice, short answers, and essays.

No. Students have as much time as they need within a regular school day.

Yes, a variety of accessibility features and accommodations are available as needed for all students and for students with disabilities. These can include a text-to-speech reader, paper-based tests, a different testing environment, or other options.

Accommodations such as bilingual word-to-word dictionaries and glossaries are available for multilingual learners as needed.

At the high school level, math and science MCAS tests are available in Spanish. Beginning in 2025, students in grades 3–8 will also be able to take math, science, and civics tests in Spanish.

English learners must participate in all MCAS testing scheduled for their grade, with the exception of English learners who are in their first year of enrollment in U.S. schools. For those students, ELA testing is optional. (Note: MCAS results for first-year English learners are not included in the accountability calculations for their school or district.)