Newton Public Schools Shares 2021 DESE Report Cards

NEWTON, MA — State report cards for the 2020-2021 school year are now available for Newton Public Schools.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) did not make accountability determinations for the 2020-2021 school year, but the report cards include enrollment, graduation rates, MCAS scores, and more.

"We are pleased to share with you the annual District and School Report Cards for the Newton Public Schools,” says the district’s website. "Report cards answer important questions about a school's overall performance. The report cards have been redesigned by the state this year to include multiple measures of a school's performance.”

According to the district report card, Newton schools outperformed most of the state on all metrics. In addition, students in the district had higher MCAS scores than the state average and made “typical progress” compared to other schools.

On the 0-99 student progress scale, with higher numbers meaning more progress, Newton scored 45.5 in Grade 3-8 English, 41.2 in Grade 3-8 math, 60.2 in Grade 10 English, and 44.6 in Grade 10 math.

Newton also scored well in other metrics. In measures including attendance, college attendance, access to the arts, and more, the city outperformed the state. Compared to the state average, a larger proportion of Newton students are also meeting or exceeding expectations.

Despite difficulties related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Newton schools have managed to keep attendance rates higher and chronic absenteeism rates lower than the state average. In addition, even though next-year college attendance has decreased by about 5 percent since 2019, it is still nearly 20 percent higher than the state average.

Newton’s district report card and individual school metrics are available here.