2025 MCAS Exams: Salem Public Schools Show Significant Progress, Gains at All Levels

Middle School ELA proficiency up 13 percent; SPS leading Gateway Cities

SALEM (Oct. 1, 2025) – Salem Public Schools middle school students enjoyed outstanding gains while grades 3-8 English Language Arts scores also improved significantly as the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) and Accountability results were released by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Tuesday.

SPS enjoyed growth in all levels – elementary, middle and high school – led by the middle school students’ ELA scores.

“This data is a strong validation of the work underway in Salem’s public schools,” said Mayor Dominick Pangallo, who chairs the Salem School Committee. “While there is still work to do in places, the trajectory and progress of student achievement in Salem is positive and a true reflection of our students’ dedication to academic success and the commitment of Salem educators. We know that amazing things are happening in Salem schools and this latest data confirms that.”

The proficiency rate for ELA in grades 6-8 improved from 20 percent in 2024 to 33 percent in 2025 while its student growth percentile (SGP) jumped from 47 to 59. In addition, middle school science saw a 6 percent growth from 23 percent in 2024 to 29 percent last year while math proficiency improved from 16 percent to 19 percent.

“These results serve as evidence that our efforts to provide middle level learners with more meaningful, project-based, deeper learning experiences are taking hold,” said Superintendent Dr. Stephen Zrike. “These results also speak to the talents, efforts and commitment of our educators who know how to best to support the individualized needs of our students.”

SPS saw improvement in all three categories in the grades 3-8 level, most notably in ELA proficiency, which jumped 8 points from 24 percent in 2024 to 32 percent in 2025, while math showed a 1 percent uptick from 23 percent in 2024 to 24 percent last year.

Grades 5-8 science saw a 3 percent increase in proficiency, from 30 percent to 33 percent.

While proficiency rates at SHS all saw slight declines following historic improvements last year – ELA from 50 to 43 percent; math from 42 to 41 percent; and science from 44 percent to 41 – student growth percentiles improved. 

In ELA, the SGP rose from 57 to 66, while math increased from 65 to 67.

“These record and historic high growth results reflect that our high school students are making more progress than high schoolers statewide who started at a similar performance level on their previous MCAS test in 8th grade.” Dr. Zrike noted.

In addition to MCAS results, DESE also released accountability information for individual schools, including absenteeism and growth, progress of multilingual learners toward English proficiency, graduation and dropout rates, completion of advanced coursework and extended high school enrollment.

Notable plaudits included:

• Over half of Salem schools (5 out of 8) made substantial progress toward their targets in 2025: Bates, Collins, Saltonstall, Witchcraft and Salem High School.
• Six out of eight schools improved their percentile rank in two consecutive years: Bates, Bentley, Collins, Saltonstall, Witchcraft and Salem High School.
• All schools but one have a designation of ‘Not requiring assistance or intervention.’ Only SHS is listed as ‘Requiring assistance or intervention’ due to low participation of English Learners (ELs) or Former English Learners (FELs). Every subgroup must have a 95 percent participation rate, and ELs/FELs at SHS participated at 94 percent.
• In both ELA and math for grades 3-8, students in the high-needs subgroup, students with disabilities, and low-income students had SGPs ranging from the high 40s to the mid-50s. Current English Learners had SGPs in the high 40s in both subjects. For grade 10, these same subgroups – students with disabilities, low-income, and high-needs – showed stronger growth in both ELA and math, with SGPs consistently in the mid-to-high 60s. 
• In grades 3-8, students who were formerly classified as English Learners showed exceptional growth, with SGPs in the 60s and 70s for ELA, and in the high 50s for math, outperforming all other subgroups. 
• In 2025, our achievement gaps with the state in all high school content areas and Grades 3-8 ELA are smaller than they were before the pandemic.
• As a District, SPS met or exceeded 66 percent of the established targets in 2025 which is considered making ‘Substantial progress toward targets.’  
• As a district, SPS we met 62 percent of improvement targets of the last two years. During this period, Salem has met or exceeded more accountability targets than any Gateway City in the Commonwealth. 
• Student progress towards English proficiency (ACCESS) was 5 percentage points higher than 2024 and 4 percentage points higher than the state average. 
• Our rates of chronic absenteeism continue to improve such that we had the third-lowest rate of absenteeism out of 26 Gateway City school districts.
• 73 percent of our students passed an advanced course in 11th or 12th grade (third among Gateway Cities).

“There is much to celebrate as Salem schools made notable progress toward their established targets,” Dr. Zrike noted. “While we are proud of the progress highlighted above, our work to support every student’s success continues. Too many students are still not consistently performing at or above grade level, and we remain committed to creating school environments that foster academic excellence and high expectations for all learners.

“Every student deserves regular access to challenging, meaningful work aligned to state standards,” he added. “Across all grade levels, this means engaging in rigorous reading and writing, participating in thoughtful academic discussions, and tackling real-world problems that build critical thinking and problem-solving skills.”

About Salem Public Schools

Salem Public Schools is an urban public school district in Salem, Massachusetts, a small, diverse city with a proud maritime and immigrant history. Our leaders and our teachers are passionate about education and understand the urgency of improving student achievement with equity and social-emotional needs as the lens through which we view our work. We respect and value the racial, cultural, and linguistic diversity of our students and their families, and have a strong commitment to the Salem community. Salem Public Schools staff unconditionally serves each of our 4,000 students across 11 schools regardless of ability or language.