Salem High School Sees Historic Marks in MCAS and Accountability Results

SHS, Horace Mann Laboratory School among 57 Commonwealth schools to earn ‘School of Distinction’ honors

SALEM (Sept. 24, 2024) – Two of eight Salem Public Schools were named Schools of Distinction as the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) released its MCAS and Accountability results Tuesday morning.

View Results

The state’s accountability system measures school and district improvement on MCAS achievement and growth (for all students and a variety of subgroups) as well as a broader set of indicators, including chronic absenteeism, multilingual learners’ progress towards English proficiency, advanced coursework completion, graduation rates, dropout rates and students’ extended enrollment in high school.

Over the last two years, Salem has met or exceeded more accountability targets than any of the 26 Gateway cities in the Commonwealth.

Salem High School and the Horace Mann Laboratory School were among 57 schools statewide to receive School of Distinction honors for high achievement, significant growth and meeting their MCAS and Accountability goals. 

Salem high schools (which includes Salem High, New Liberty Innovation School and Salem Prep) made exceptional progress in achievement and growth – defined as Salem students accelerating compared to their peers statewide – in English Language Arts (ELA), Math and Science and exceeded pre-pandemic levels:

• Highest achievement scores in the history of Salem High School in ELA, Math, and Science.
• Salem High School outperformed the state average in the category of exceeding on MCAS in ELA and Science.
• High school proficiency increased from 36 percent in 2023 to 49 percent in 2024 while growth saw a 10-point change in percentile from 47 in 2023 to 57 last year. 
• Proficiency rates in math saw a 15 percentage point increase from 27 percent in 2023 to 42 percent in 2024; as well as a 21 percentile point increase in growth, from 44  in 2023 to 55 in 2024.
• Science proficiency rates grew 23 percentage points from 21 percent in 2023 to 44 percent in 2024.

“These are the largest one-year high school increases in Salem’s history and among the largest increases anywhere in the Commonwealth,” said Superintendent Dr. Stephen Zrike, who cited the improvements were a result of introducing a Pre-Advanced Placement curriculum to a higher percentage of students; providing targeted support for struggling learners, co-teaching courses for multilingual and special education students; and ensuring instruction was better aligned to grade-level standards.

“Today’s announcement is very encouraging, and I want to commend Salem’s students and our educators for their achievements,” said Mayor Dominick Pangallo, who chairs the Salem School Committee. “While we still have lots of work to do, the gains and academic accomplishments demonstrated by this data is worth celebrating. The progress that Salem Public Schools is witnessing is the direct outcome of the intentional efforts of so many across our community. 

“We’re a city and a school district that is focused on and prioritizes the success of every child, creating a culture of belonging and high standards for every student, and providing the strategies and tools necessary to achieve that goal,” Mayor Pangallo added. “The Spring 2024 MCAS and accountability data is powerful evidence that what’s happening in Salem is making a positive difference for our city’s kids. I couldn’t be prouder to be a Salem Public School parent and to be part of this remarkable community.”

Horace Mann Laboratory School met/exceeded 92 percent of its targets

The Horace Mann Laboratory School met or exceeded 92 percent of the state’s performance goals while Bates Elementary School (78 percent), SHS (59), and Saltonstall School (56) also met/exceeded performance targets (for reference, less than 15 percent of the 1,588 schools in the Commonwealth achieved this goal).

Witchcraft Heights Elementary School (70) and the Collins Middle School (48) made substantial progress toward improvement goals while the Carlton Innovation School (45) and Bentley Academy Innovation School (48) made moderate progress.

Encouraging results in math, science

In grades 3-8 math, SPS saw a two-point increase in proficiency rates from 2022-23 and a five-point percentile increase in student growth. Since the pandemic (2021), SPS has seen a 7 percent increase in students who scored in the meets/exceeds categories on the Math MCAS.

In grades 5-8 science, SPS had a one-point increase in the percentage of students who scored in the meet/exceeds category. In Grades 3-8 ELA, overall student scores stayed flat. Student growth increased by three percentile points but overall proficiency rates decreased.

“This suggests that we are accelerating learning for our previously lower-performing students, but we’re not moving enough students toward grade-level proficiency in English Language Arts,” Dr. Zrike noted.

The data included many other positive results: 

• All eight Salem Public Schools improved their accountability percentile rank from the previous year, led by SHS and Bates Elementary School, which enjoyed double-digit improvement in their percentile rank.
• Collins Middle School saw its accountability improve such that it is no longer a school below the 10th percentile and is no longer designated as requiring assistance or intervention
• As a district, SPS met 71% of its targets and its multilingual learners, low income, high needs as well as Latino students made substantial progress towards their improvement targets in 2024. “Our data reveals that we need to pay increased attention to our students with disabilities who are only making moderate progress,” Dr. Zrike said.
• SPS’s student progress towards English proficiency (ACCESS) was 6-percentage points higher than the state average and its rates of chronic absenteeism have improved such that it is ranked in the top 3 of the 26 Gateway City school districts (up from 25th in 2022-23).

MCAS data provides SPS educators and families with important diagnostic information on areas where students progressed and where additional support is necessary. MCAS scores are only one indicator of student and school success. All families will receive their child’s individual MCAS score reports during the month of October. 

“We are very encouraged by the progress we are making, particularly at the high school level as well as in math district-wide,” Dr. Zrike noted. “While we are pleased by the improvement, we still have extensive work to do to ensure that every student achieves their academic potential.”

About Salem Public Schools

Salem Public Schools is an urban public school district in Salem, Massachusetts. Salem is a small, diverse city with a proud maritime and immigrant history. Our leaders and our teachers are all passionate about education and understand the urgency of improving student achievement with equity and social-emotional needs as the lens we view all of our work through. 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 serve all of our students, regardless of ability or language. Salem Public Schools enrolls approximately 4,000 students across its eleven schools.