October 2026
A: Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE will administer the revised grades 5 and 8 Science and Technology/Engineering STE tests in spring 2027. More information about the development of these tests can be found in the timeline.
A: As with all Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System MCAS test materials, our Assessment Development Committees (ADCs), made up of Massachusetts educators, play a major role in reviewing the performance tasks that make up the revised test design. Educators review test materials, including simulations, story scenes, test questions, and scoring materials prior to field testing. Each committee also reviews all test questions and student performance data after field testing. In addition, a separate Bias and Sensitivity Committee (BSC) reviews all the testing materials before and after field testing.
A: Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE works with a contractor to develop Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System MCAS performance tasks, which include storylines and simulations. The Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System MCAS test development process involves extensive reviews and field testing before each test question counts toward students' scores. It takes a total of two to three years for each performance task to be initially written, reviewed, and edited (by multiple educator committees, experts, and editorial staff), field tested by Massachusetts students, and then reviewed again with statistical information. Each step in the process is designed to ensure that test results are valid and reliable. More information about the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System MCAS test development process is available on Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE's Test Design and Development page.
A: Yes, the presentation is available on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System MCAS Resource Center . To find the presentation, scroll down to Recordings of Webinars on Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System MCAS Test Design Changes.
A: Yes, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE will host an afternoon webinar in February 2027. The webinar is primarily intended for classroom teachers. More information, including a registration link, will be available in an upcoming Student Assessment Update.
A: No, at this time, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE is only developing Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System MCAS performance tasks for the grades 5 and 8 Science and Technology/Engineering STE tests.
A: No, the recommended testing time is expected to remain the same. The recommended test time per session is 1 to 1 ½ hours.
A: Yes, we expect results from the revised tests will be comparable with previous years' results.
A: The revised test design will contain six performance tasks administered over two sessions. Five of the tasks are common tasks, and one is a matrix task. Common tasks count toward a student's score, while the matrix task will be either a field-test task or an equating task and will not count toward a student's score.
A: Each Performance task consist of the following:
A: Each performance task is worth 11 points. The selected-response items are worth a total of 8 points, and the constructed-response item is worth 3 points.
A: In total, there are 55 points on each operational test that count toward a student's score.
A: Yes, each session contains three separate sections. When students reach the end of a section, they will see a screen asking if they are finished answering questions in the section. If students click "No, I am not finished," they will return to the test and may revisit any question in that section. If students click the button that says "Yes, I am finished" then they will move into the next section and not be able to return to any of the questions in the section.
A: The following resources are available on Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE's Science and Technology/Engineering (STE) Test Design and Development pages:
A: Yes, the grades 5 and 8 Science and Technology/Engineering STE practice tests are available in the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System MCAS Resource Center . Each practice test has a computer-based and paper-based version with answer keys and examples of student work.
The accommodated, screen-reader, Spanish/English computer-based, and Spanish/English paper-based versions are expected to be available by mid-November.
A: Students may complete one task at a time but their answers will not be saved. The practice test is divided into three sections, with each section containing one task.
A: Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE has developed local-level classroom Science and Technology/Engineering (STE) performance assessment tasks. Both the local-level classroom tasks and the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System MCAS Science and Technology/Engineering STE assessments are aligned to the standards and practices in the 2016 Science and Technology/Engineering STE Framework . These local-level classroom tasks are designed to support high-quality Science and Technology/Engineering STE curricula and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE's deeper learning goals.
Schools are not required to administer the local-level classroom tasks; however, use of the tasks is encouraged. Student and teacher versions of the local-level classroom tasks are available on Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE's Local-Level Classroom Science and Technology/Engineering STE Performance Assessment Tasks page.
A: The answer keys for both the grade 5 and grade 8 Science and Technology/Engineering STE practice tests contain student work samples. Additionally, student work samples are included with released test questions.
A: Yes, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE plans to release one task for each grade level.
A: Student work samples will continue to be included with the released test questions. However, individual student-constructed responses will not be available.
Last Updated: October 22, 2026