The Marion School Committee met on Thursday, December 11 and went over MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System) scores, which have improved slightly over previous years but are still above the state average in mathematics, science and English Language Arts (ELA).
Superintendent Michael Nelson explained that MCAS testing is at an interesting crossroad since the 2024 state ballot that removed the testing as a graduation requirement. School Committee Member Nichole Daniel noted the district’s decline and how it is concerning for both officials and parents.
Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Sharlene Fedorowicz and Sippican Elementary Principal Lynn Dessert attributed some of the decline to new programming at both Sippican Elementary and the entire Tri-Town district, which also encompasses Mattapoisett and Rochester.
Both said that the data helped educators analyze the strengths and weaknesses and curtail education toward strengthening the weaknesses such as small-group instruction opportunities and using scheduled flex time to target problem areas.
Overall, students in grades 4 through 8 improved slightly in the past year in ELA but not in math. In grade 10, math scores were stagnant but showed a slight decrease in ELA. Still, the district outperformed the state in math, ELA, and science.
Fedorowicz said that in grade 3 through 6, Marion students outperformed the state average by 2-percent in ELA; 5-percent in math; and 11-percent in science.
Fedorowicz noted that in ELA, more students scored in the exceeded expectations category than in previous years.
Dessert noted that students in ELA in the older elementary grades made significant strides toward analyzing texts using evidence and understanding the purpose of a text.
However, students need more support with evidence-based writing.
In math, by grade 6, students demonstrated strong, deeper reasoning skills but needed more hands-on activities to deepen pre-algebra skill, Dessert said. She noted that by Grade 6, students were expressing a strong grasp of Earth science, astronomy and engineering but needed to strengthen their science vocabulary and writing about the sciences.
“Our next steps are to strengthen explicit standard-aligned instruction and increase student discourse and make sure students are talking (about academic content),” she told the School Committee.
In other business, Nelson said he is preparing two budgets for Fiscal Year 2027 – one with level service numbers and another with additional needs beyond the level service request from town finance officials. He said budget deliberations will center around mathematics, technology and enrollment issues.
The next meeting of the Marion School committee is scheduled for Thursday, February 26, 2026.
Marion School Committee
By Jeffrey D. Wagner