MCAS and Accountability: Cambridge Public Schools Recognized by DESE for Math Achievement

Across All Grades and Subjects, CPS Outperformed State Average

CPS was among 41 districts recognized at DESE event on Monday for progress in Math.

CPS sees significant one-year gains in grade 6 math and grade 7 ELA.

On Monday, September 29, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) released MCAS and accountability results for the 2024-2025 school year. Across all grades and subjects, the Cambridge Public Schools (CPS) outperformed the state, including in the inaugural administration of the Grade 8 Civics MCAS.

During DESE’s public announcement event in Arlington on Monday, CPS was one of 41 districts recognized for its steady progress in grades 3-8 Math MCAS scores; Cambridge was also the largest of the 63 districts in total recognized by the state for making progress. This comes following the Tobin Montessori School named as a School of Recognition and the Martin Luther King Jr. School named as a national Blue Ribbon School in the 2024 MCAS cycle.

In addition to achievement in grades 3-8 math, all CPS grade levels saw moderate or high growth in ELA and math, meaning that the average student in CPS is making progress at or above the rate of their academic peers across the state. CPS also had significant one-year gains in the percentage of students meeting/exceeding expectations in several areas: grade 6 math and grade 7 ELA (11 percentage point increases each), as well as Science, Technology & Engineering (STE): grade 5 (8 percentage points) and grade 10 (7 percentage points).

“The Cambridge Public Schools celebrates the critical success stories represented in the release of today’s MCAS data,” said Interim Superintendent David Murphy. “The steady momentum and accomplishments that our school system has experienced in recent years are attributable to the hard work and dedication of our teachers, school leaders and support staff. Our strategic investments in staffing and curriculum have paid dividends for students with the potential to dramatically improve the educational experiences of all CPS students over time.”

“It is equally imperative to recognize the persistent opportunity gaps represented in our achievement data. The discrepancies across student groups and among specific demographics demand a pronounced sense of urgency if we are to ensure that all students experience the opportunities to which they are entitled. While MCAS is only one of several measures to assess our progress, it is a critical one if our substantive commitment to equity is to match our rhetoric and reputation.

“I congratulate the educators who made this steady progress possible. There is a lot more work to do.”

“The improvements in MCAS scores and the growth of our students is the result of all the hard work of our students and their dedicated teachers - in the classroom, the targeted and strategic tutoring in the winter and spring vacation academies, and in the after-school support programs,” said School Committee Vice Chair, Caroline Hunter, who also represented CPS during Monday’s announcement in Arlington.

In the state’s accountability framework, the district as a whole is categorized as “making substantial progress toward targets.” Highlights of where the district exceeded targets include:

• Reducing chronic absenteeism across grades 1-8 and for the lowest performing high school students.
• Progress of our English learners in attaining English language proficiency across all grades;
• Math growth among our lowest performing high school students; and
• Extended engagement rate, which is the percentage of students who have graduated or are still in school after 5 years.
• Notably, the district exceeded its targets in more areas than the previous year.
• Four CPS schools were in the state’s highest accountability category of exceeding/meeting targets: Baldwin School, Tobin Montessori School, Martin Luther King Jr. School, and Rindge Avenue Upper School.
• The majority of CPS schools fell into the 75th percentile and above in the statewide accountability framework.

Declines across the state were seen in Grade 10 ELA and math, including in CPS; the state suggested that this could reflect the impact of Question 2 on student motivation. Despite this decline in overall achievement, the average CRLS student is making more improvement in math from grade 8 to grade 10 than their academic peers across the state based on CRLS’s high growth in math. And the high school saw an improvement in Science scores.

The district is deeply committed to closing the opportunity gap by continuing to implement robust, data-driven systems to support each of our students in achieving their full potential. Some of these investments include:

• Adoption of aligned English Language Arts (Fishtank, CKLA) and mathematics (Illustrative Math) curriculum ensures that all students have access to high-quality, systematic, grade-level instruction across schools and classrooms daily.
• Commitments to in-school-day strategies toward intervention through both human capital investments and strategic scheduling reform.
• Implementation of increased instructional time through lengthened school day across elementary and upper schools.
• Entering year three of Excel Tutoring, our high-impact tutoring program, for eligible students in grades 3-8.
• Launch of the Cambridge Preschool Program, a universal preschool program for all 4-year olds and some 3-year olds in coordination with the City of Cambridge. The district will begin to see the return of this particular investment in future MCAS years.

Grades 3-8 ELA MCAS: % of Students Meeting/Exceeding Expectations


Grades 3-8 Math MCAS: % of Students Meeting/Exceeding Expectations


About Cambridge Public Schools
Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge Public Schools (CPS) is deeply committed to delivering a world class and rigorous academic experience to every student. Our students reflect the rich racial, ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and socio-economic diversity of the City of Cambridge, elevating the critical importance of centering equity in education.

With over 1,600 faculty and staff serving approximately 7,000 students from preschool to grade 12 in 18 schools as of the 2024 - 2025 school year, CPS is a well-resourced, supported, and strongly positioned urban public school district from a financial, educational, community, and civic perspective.