Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System

Student Assessment Update: June 15, 2017, Special End-of-School Edition

The Office of Student Assessment Services would like to thank principals, test coordinators, test administrators, technology coordinators, and other staff for your cooperation and assistance in administering the first year of the next-generation MCAS tests in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics in grades 3-8. Most fourth and eighth graders took the computer-based version of the tests, and many schools chose to use the computer-based version for other grades, too. Close to 250,000 students took computer-based tests in both ELA and math.

Latest Updates from Student Assessment Services

Opportunity to Give Input on First Year of Computer-Based Testing

Individuals who were involved in spring 2017 MCAS computer-based testing are invited to share input with the Department by completing this survey. We welcome your feedback, and hope that you will take the time to respond by Friday, June 30. The survey should take approximately 10 minutes to complete. If you wish to gather answers before going online to complete the survey, all of the questions are posted at MCAS Headlines.

MCAS Reporting Call-June 26 at 10:00 a.m.

During this reporting conference call, Department staff will discuss the first release of preliminary "raw" MCAS data, including updates to reporting for grades 3-8 English language arts and mathematics, as well as legacy results for high school and for grades 5 and 8 STE. Topics will include:

Full preliminary results for grade 10 ELA
State percent correct on selected-response items for grades 3-8 ELA, grades 3-8 and 10 math, and grades 5 and 8 STE
A review of new variables in the MCAS .CSV file (posted to DropBoxes)
New achievement measures on next-generation MCAS (available in October)
Reporting timelines for August preliminary results and the official public release in October

The Department will post a PowerPoint presentation for the call in Dropbox and at the MCAS Service Center. There will be an opportunity to ask questions during the call. Interested participants can register until Friday, June 23. For those who cannot attend, the call will be recorded and posted online by July 3.

Updates to TestNav System Requirements for School Year 2017-2018

Pearson has announced that they will be ending support for the following devices and operating systems:

iPad 2 and 3
iOS9
Android 5 and 6
Chrome OS 50-56

Schools will want to verify that the devices in their inventory meet the minimum TestNav System Requirements and upgrade any operating systems that are out of date. As always, schools can refer to the system requirements page for the latest information on supported technology and recommended specifications.

Subscriber Information

Principals, MCAS test coordinators, special education directors, and ELL directors automatically receive this Student Assessment Update based on contact information submitted to the Department. To change your email address or to add another staff member who serves in one of these roles, please follow the instructions below:

Public school districts, public schools, charter public schools: submit the new email address to your District-Level Directory Administrator.
Educational collaboratives, approved private special education schools, test sites, adult education programs, out-of-state schools, SEIS-DYS programs: go online to the EOE Information Technology web page (select "District/School Information Update" as the subject) to submit your update (be sure to include your District and School Code).

For others who wish to subscribe, email imailsrv@list1.doe.mass.edu with the following information in the body of the email: "subscribe SASUpdate Your_Name" (Example: subscribe SASUpdate John_Smith). To unsubscribe, send an email to the same address with the following information in the body: "unsubscribe SASUpdate." We welcome your questions and feedback at mcas@doe.mass.edu. Thank you.

Last Updated: June 27, 2017