Andover students bucked a statewide trend of students continuing to fall behind pre-pandemic academic levels, as measured by the MCAS test results released by the Department of Elementary & Secondary Education this week.
The results were released Tuesday, six weeks before a ballot question will ask voters whether MCAS should remain a requirement for high school graduation in Massachusetts. That requirement, according to the Massachusetts Teachers Association, puts students of color at a disadvantage.
Despite not falling as far behind as less affluent Massachusetts school districts, Andover’s scores continued to lag behind 2019, the last year the test was given before the coronavirus pandemic shut down schools. In grades 3-8, for example, 64 percent of students exceeded or met expectations on the English exam in 2024, down from 71 percent in 2019. The tests were not administered in 2020, when students attended school remotely.
Get more Andover news delivered to your inbox every weekday. Sign up for our free newsletter.
The exams were administered this past spring. The results showed Andover students in grades 3 through 8 making fewer gains than 10th graders. Among grades 3-8, fewer students met or exceeded expectations in English in 2024 when compared to 2023, while the percentage of students partially or not meeting expectations increased slightly. That reflected a statewide trend of lower scores on the English exam.
To address lower scores at the elementary level, Andover Public Schools will conduct “a K-8 literacy audit this fall to analyze current curriculum and determine best practices to address students’ ELA achievement,” Superintendent Magda Parvey said in a note to parents.
“While recognizing the increases in student achievement, we continue to identify areas for improvement across the district,” Parvey said. “Overall, a historical analysis of ELA data for grades 3-8 shows stagnant achievement levels for all students.”
Overall, however, Andover students scored slightly higher in 2024 than 2023 in most categories measured by the test and once again exceeded state averages. In grades 3-8, 64 percent of students met or exceeded expectations in English and 67 met or exceeded expectations in math. The state average was 39 percent in English and 41 percent in math.
Percentage of Andover students meeting or exceeding expectations:
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2019 | |
| Grade 3-8 English | 64% | 67% | 65% | 65% | 71% |
| Grade 3-8 Math | 67% | 65% | 64% | 57% | 67% |
| Grade 10 English | 79% | 72% | 75% | 80% | 84% |
| Grade 10 Math | 76% | 73% | 70% | 74% | 81% |
| Grade 10 Science | 70% | 64% | 57% | N/A | N/A |
Andover tenth graders also exceeded state averages, with 79 percent in English, 76 percent in math, and 70 percent in science exceeding or meeting expectations. Statewide, the numbers were 57 percent in English, 48 percent in math, and 49 percent in science.
Andover also made some gains in lowering the number of students partially or not meeting expectations:
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2019 | |
| Grade 3-8 English | 36% | 33% | 35% | 35% | 29% |
| Grade 3-8 Math | 33% | 35% | 36% | 43% | 33% |
| Grade 10 English | 21% | 28% | 25% | 20% | 16% |
| Grade 10 Math | 24% | 27% | 30% | 26% | 19% |
| Grade 10 Science | 30% | 36% | 43% | N/A | N/A |
Parvey highlighted other data points from the results, including:
- Improvements in math and science among elementary school students.
- Improvements in high school science scores.
- Improvement in the accountability scores of individual schools from 84 to 97 percent.
“As a district, Andover Public Schools is classified as meeting or exceeding targets, the highest classification a district can receive through DESE’s Accountability system,” Parvey said. “The majority of our schools met or exceeded DESE accountability targets across many indicators, including subgroups, and continue to exceed state averages in all content areas across all tested grades.”