September 25, 2024

Dear APS families and staff,

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) released the Spring 2024 MCAS results on September 24, 2024. An overview of the district's data can be found on the DESE website. Individual student reports will be sent home in early October.

Districtwide

As a district, Andover Public Schools is classified as meeting or exceeding targets, the highest classification a district can receive through DESE’s Accountability system. The majority of our schools met or exceeded DESE accountability targets across many indicators, including subgroups, and continue to exceed state averages in all content areas across all tested grades.

Elementary

We are proud to share that our elementary students are showing improvement in Math and Science from last year. The 2024 results indicate that 69% of Grade 3 students are exceeding or meeting expectations in Math, compared to 57% last year. In Grade 4 Math and Grade 5 Science and Technology, the number of students who exceeded or met expectations also increased from the previous year. We believe the increase in Math scores is due to the introduction of high-quality instructional materials like Eureka2, focused professional development, support at the school level, and the dedication of our elementary educators.

Secondary

At the middle school level, we are beginning to see the positive impacts of using high-quality instructional materials such as Eureka2 and Desmos year-over-year, coupled with targeted professional support and the commitment of our middle school educators. Grade 6 Math scores achieved a 7% increase in meeting/exceeding expectations with a 5% increase in exceeding expectations from 2023. Additionally, we are excited to see continued improvement in high school science. In 2022, 2023, and 2024, students meeting/exceeding expectations grew from 57% to 64% to 71%, respectively. Grade 10 ELA scores also saw a significant increase in meeting/exceeding expectations with an 8% increase from 2023 and Grade 10 mathematics saw a 6% increase in students exceeding expectations.

Accountability at All Grade Levels

Overall, individual schools’ accountability percentiles ranged from 84 to 97. We also saw significant improvement in advanced coursework completion at Andover High School. While recognizing the increases in student achievement, we continue to identify areas for improvement across the district. Overall, a historical analysis of ELA data for grades 3-8 shows stagnant achievement levels for all students. As a result, APS is conducting a K-8 literacy audit this fall to analyze current curriculum and determine best practices to address students’ ELA achievement. As a district, we are dedicated to ensuring quality academic experiences for all students, supporting the needs of students who have historically not met the same achievement and growth as their peers at APS. Implementing standards-aligned curriculum for all students and targeted professional learning for our educators will assist with this goal.

The district will present a detailed analysis of the Spring 2024 MCAS results to the School Committee on Thursday, October 17, 2024.

This communication was updated in March 2025 to remove a reference to graduation rates based on a change in data reporting practices.

Sincerely,

MP signature

Dr. Magda Parvey

Superintendent

West Elementary School

All Around APS - October 4, 2024

2024 MCAS - A Message from Dr. Parvey