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Lowell Public Schools Achieve Significant MCAS Testing Improvements

The recent release of the 2025 Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) results highlights notable improvements for Lowell Public Schools. According to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), seven out of eleven schools that required assistance or intervention in 2024 have successfully exited that status. This positive shift reflects the hard work of educators and support staff in the district.

Superintendent Liam Skinner expressed pride in the results, stating, “The results are very encouraging and speak to the incredible dedication of our teachers who are in the classrooms every day, as well as our school leaders and support staff who guide and support the work.” Despite these advancements, DESE underscored the ongoing challenges posed by post-pandemic learning loss, emphasizing the need for continued focus on chronic absenteeism and early literacy.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education was profound, with a state of emergency declared by Governor Charlie Baker on March 10, 2020, leading to school closures shortly thereafter. In-person learning resumed in August 2020 but faced interruptions, including a return to remote learning in October due to a surge in COVID-19 cases. Students gradually returned to classrooms by February 2021, marking a transition back to traditional learning.

MCAS is a standardized testing system that evaluates student proficiency in mathematics, English language arts, and science/technology. The tests are administered to students in grades 3-8 and 10, with the 2022 results being the first full administration since 2019. In 2020, MCAS was not conducted, and only partial testing occurred in 2021.

During a presentation at Ottoson Middle School in Arlington, Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler acknowledged the hard work of school communities to support students. He stated, “We know that school communities are working hard to support their students, and I’m glad to highlight positive results among several districts while also recognizing the work that we still need to do as a state.”

In 2023, DESE identified eleven schools in Lowell that required assistance, including Greenhalge, Wang, Reilly, and Shaughnessy elementary schools; Stoklosa, Robinson, and Sullivan middle schools; Rogers STEM Academy; Lowell High School; the Laura Lee Therapeutic Day School; and the Career Academy. This year, the number has been reduced to four schools needing assistance: Robinson and Sullivan Middle Schools, Lowell High School, and Rogers STEM Academy.

The performance of Morey Elementary and Daley Middle School stood out as the highest in the district. Encouragingly, English Language Arts scores have improved, with the percentage of students meeting expectations increasing from 21% to 25% between the 2024 and 2025 testing years. Additionally, the number of students exceeding expectations grew from 2% to 4%.

Meeting expectations indicates that a student is performing at a level that aligns with grade-level standards, while exceeding expectations signifies mastery of the subject matter. The DESE report classified the Lowell Public School District as “not requiring assistance or intervention” for both the 2024 and 2025 testing years, noting substantial progress toward state targets. The report indicated that Lowell achieved a progress rate of 51%, surpassing the state average of 39%.

“It is rewarding to see that hard work bearing fruit,” Skinner commented. “We have much more to do, but as these results demonstrate, we are on the rise.” The significant improvements in the MCAS results suggest a positive trajectory for Lowell Public Schools, reinforcing the commitment of educators and the community to enhance student learning outcomes.

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