ROCHESTER — Old Colony showed itself to be very on-par with other vocational and technical high schools, which serve as its peers and with the state where state data was available for MCAS exams. 

The school’s tenth graders were the only ones to take the test in three subject areas: English language arts, mathematics and science and technology/engineering. The state used two different scoring systems for those tests, though, as it is currently transferring over to a new “next-generation” MCAS system with the tenth grade test. 

The English and math exams were next-generation exams, which are designed to be more rigorous and taken on a computer. Those are scored on a scale of exceeding expectations, mweting expectations, partially meeting expectations or not meeting expectations.

The state average scores for English was 506 points and for math was 505 points. Old Colony scored a few points below that average, at 502.3 points for English and 502.7 points for math. But the scores were not significantly off from the state average. 

The science exams were ranked on a system of advanced, proficient, needs improvement or failing (the legacy system). Although the state did not provide benchmark numbers for the legacy test, Old Colony was only nine points behind its peers at Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School and Bristol County Agricultural High School, and seven points ahead of peers at Upper Cape Cod Regional Vocational Technical High School. 

“We are proud of Old Colony's students and their performance on the MCAS exams,” said Catherine Tuccinardi, the academic coordinator at Old Colony. “Because we are a 9 to 12 district, last spring was our first time administering NextGen Computer-Based MCAS exams aligned with recently updated frameworks in ELA and mathematics,” she explained. 

Tuccinardi said that based on scores, teachers and administrators, “reflect on and then begin to tweak our curriculum and instruction as necessary,” but she added that “scores do not define our students or overshadow our goals as a district.” 

In addition to changing academic standards, Tuccinardi said the school also worked on absenteeism, which counts against a school in the new system. 

“MCAS is a piece of the accountability system, and last year we also worked diligently to lower our chronic absenteeism rates as well as raise our Advanced Coursework Completion. We are proud of our growth in those two areas as well,” the academic coordinator said.  

Students will receive their individual scores in October.