New Benefits of MCAS Salem Public Schools Rating

SALEM, MA – Salem was one of the school districts to benefit from the new system of state accountability. The Massachusetts Department of Primary and Secondary Education on Thursday released standardized test results using the new system, and Salem was one of the school districts that would not need state intervention.

According to Superintendent Margarita Ruiz, the new system uses indicators that go beyond student achievement to evaluate public school districts. This change benefits urban school districts like Salem.

"For urban neighborhoods like Salem, this will help level the playing field in terms of the work and effort that our diverse student population spends every day on public education," Ruiz said in a statement. "Since my arrival in Salem, one of my priorities has been to ensure a high level of achievement for all students and this can not always be reflected in the results of MCAS."

Based on DESE's new accountability system, the district received a favorable rating of not needing assistance or support. Eight of our eleven schools achieved or partially achieved their goals. The other three – New Liberty Innovation School, Salem Early Childhood and Salem Prep – did not have sufficient data to measure.

"Although I am disappointed with some of our numbers, we have anticipated and identified potential challenges as we learn more about the new accountability system," Ruiz said. In particular, the data validate the impetus for a secondary overhaul as part of our strategic plan. Our teachers and students work hard throughout the district and this effort is reflected in the number of participants in areas such as ELA and English proficiency. All our schools had bright spots and challenges to overcome. These data will be used to guide our work towards the future. "

Ruiz will officially present the test results to the school board on October 1st. See all results from Salem Public School District on the DESE website.

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Dave Copeland can be contacted at [email protected] or by phone at 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/ copewrites).