Bedford's 2012 MCAS Results: 8 Things to Know

The results of the 2012 MCAS exams were released on Wednesday. District-wide results are available here. School-by-school results can be seen by going to the previous link; choosing a school from the drop down box on the upper-right hand of the page; and clicking the "Assessment tab."

Here are 8 things that stand out from Bedford's results:

1. 100 Percent of Bedford High School Sophomores Scored Proficient or Higher in English

All Bedford High School Sophomores scored a proficient or advanced on the English Language Arts portion of the 2012 MCAS exams. 60 percent of sophomores scored in the advanced category, while 40 percent scored in the proficient category. While the state average for scoring in the advanced category was well below Bedford's results at 37 percent, the state average for scoring proficient was above Bedford's results with 51 percent of students scoring procificient on the English portion of the exam at the state level. 

Sophomores at BHS improved their scores on the English portion of the exam from 2011's results, with only 57 percent scoring advanced and 38 percent scoring proficient in English last year. 

2. Sophomores Remain Strong in Math

On par with 2011's results on the Mathematics portion of the exam, 93 percent of BHS sophomores scored proficient or higher on the Math portion of the MCAS, well above the state average of 78 percent.

3. Significant Increase in BHS Students Scoring Advanced in Science and Technology/Engineering

In 2011 only 39 percent of BHS sophomores scored advanced on the science and technology/engineering portion of the exam, while this year, 51 percent of sophomores scored advanced on that portion of the exam. 

4. Bedford 8th Graders Scoring Proficient or Higher in Math 20 Percent Over State Average 

While only 52 percent of 8th graders at the state level scored proficient or higher on the math portion of the MCAS, 74 percent of eighth graders at John Glenn Middle School scored proficient or higher on the math portion of the exam.

5. 7th Graders Outperform State Average, Last Year's Math Scores

44 percent of 7th Graders at John Glenn Middle School scored advanced on the math portion of the exam, an 11 percent increase over last year's 7th grade math results. The state average for seventh grade students scoring advanced on the math portion of the MCAS was 20 percent. 82 percent of 7th graders at John Glenn Middle School scored proficient or higher on the math portion of the exam while only 51 percent of 7th graders on the state level scored a proficient or higher in math. 

6. 6th Graders Slip in English 

In 2011, 86 percent of 6th graders scored proficient or higher on the english portion of the MCAS, while in 2012 only 79 percent of 6th graders at John Glenn Middle School scored a proficient or higher in english.  

7. Decrease in 5th Grade English Scores 

75 percent of 5th graders at Job Lane Elementary School scored proficient or higher on the english portion of the exam, while in 2011, 84 percent of 5th graders scored proficient or higher in english. However, on the state level, only 61 percent of students scored a proficient or higher in english. 

8. Significant Decrease in 3rd Grade Math Scores

In 2011 90 percent of 3rd graders at Job Lane Elementary School scored proficient or higher on the math portion of the MCAS. This year, only 70 percent of 3rd graders at Job Lane scored a proficient or higher on the math portion of the exam. The discrepancy comes from the proficient category, where only 34 percent of 3rd graders scored this year compared to 59 percent in 2011. Bedford 3rd graders remained above the 2012 state average in math, which fell at 61 percent.