Thursday’s release of MCAS test scores put tri-town students above average in many academic categories, even as district schools phase out the 22-year-old assessment.

Last year, the Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester School Committees voted to administer the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College Careers (PARCC) for all eligible elementary school students. According to the Department of Education, PARCC scores should be released next month.

Junior High School Principal Kevin Brogioli said the MCAS results showed continued improvements in grade eight science scores.

MCAS results are categorized by different achievement levels: proficient or higher, advanced, proficient, needs improvement and warning/failing.

Last year, the number of students scoring proficient were six points above the state average. This year, that number is 11 points above the state average.

“When we look at the science scores we seem to be trending in the right direction,” Brogioli said.

He said junior high staff have focused on raising those scores the past few years. Compared to MCAS results at the elementary and high school level, junior high science scores are noticeably lower.

“Our issue with science is that at the state level, the standards are in a state of flux,” Brogioli said. “We follow the Next Generation Science Standards while the state uses the old MCAS standards.”

The problem he said is that students aren't being tested on the new standards.

Overall, Brogioli said he was pleased with the MCAS results, and is looking forward to seeing the PARCC scores in October.

In the high school, grade 10 students scored a 98 percent in the proficient or higher category compared to the state’s 91 percent, 53 percent in advanced versus the state’s 49 percent, and 46 percent in the proficient category with the state score being 42 percent in the English assessment.

Compared to last year, students made strides in the same academic area, improving in advanced from 46 percent to 53 percent. Proficient remained almost the same as the score dropped one percentage point from 47 to 46 percent this year.

Math advanced scores also jumped from last year as students scored 63 percent, up from 55 percent in 2014.

Science and technology scores at grade 10 remained close to last year’s score. In 2015, students scored 34 percent in the advanced category, down two points from 2014. The proficient number increased from 42 to 47 percent and needs improvement scores remained unchanged at 19 percent.

Brogioli said the PARCC scores should give administrators a better idea of the school’s academic performance when released.

For the first time last year, all junior high students were administered the new online test.

“It really calls for critical thinking skills and argumentation,” Brogioli said. “Personally, I think it’s a bit more difficult and it’s a more of a complete test.”

The new online test is aligned with Common Core curriculum changes adopted in 2010. Testing sessions are much shorter with a PARCC test, typically lasting one hour. An average MCAS testing session, on the other hand, spans days.

This fall, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education is expected to decide which test third through eighth graders will take in 2016 for the subjects of English language arts and math.

Whether or not the board adopts PARCC, some students will continue to use MCAS.

Students in grades five, eight and high school will continue to take the MCAS science and technology tests since PARCC lacks a science component.

MCAS, which students must pass for graduation, will be given to grade 10 students for English, math, science and technology through 2019.

For more MCAS results from tri-town schools see below.

Sippican School

Grade five science and teaching scores remained the same (20 percent) at the advanced level and jumped from 68 percent to 72 percent at proficient.

For complete results click here.

Rochester Memorial School

Grade five students bested the state average in science and teaching with scores of 65 percent and 49 percent, compared to 51 percent and 35 percent for proficient and higher and proficient, respectively.

For complete results click here.

Old Hammondtown

Old Hammondtown grade five scores for science and technology dropped in the advanced category compared to last year’s scores, from 33 percent to 19 percent.

Proficient scores rose from 43 percent to 54 percent in 2015. Against the state, student scores were higher in all categories.

For complete results click here.