Less Than Half Of Burlington Students In Grades 4-8 Meet Expectations In English On Standardized Test

BURLINGTON, MA -- Less than half of students Burlington Public School in grades 4-8 met or exceeded expectations on the English language arts MCAS tests administered last spring, according to test results released by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Wednesday. Additionally, Burlington 4th and 7th graders scored lower than state averages in mathematics on the next generation MCAS test.

Burlington Public Schools officials were not immediately available for comment. Overall, 41% of Burlington students in grades 3-8 met or exceeded expectations in English language arts, below the state average of 49%. In mathematics, 50% of students met or exceeded state expectations, above the state average of 48%.

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Massachusetts released the first results under the state's next generation standardized testing for public school students Thursday. While students in 10th grade took the older version of the MCAS test last spring, students in grades 3-8 took the newer version of the test used by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to evaluate school performance.

The bright spot on the test results was the performance of Burlington third graders. In math, 61% of third graders met or exceeded expectations. In reading, 55% of Burlington third graders met or exceeded expectations.

The complete results are available on the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Website.

Patch file photo.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).