Newton Public Schools students received slightly higher scores in last year’s MCAS exams, but racial and socioeconomic disparities stood out across the score data, released by the state in late September. 

The Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) is a series of standardized English and math tests taken by students in grades three to eight and grade 10. Students in grades five, eight and nine or 10 take a science test and students in eighth grade also take a civics test. The test is created and administered by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). 

According to Newton’s “district report card,” compiled by DESE, the NPS district has shown typical progress in increasing its students’ average scores between 2024 and 2025. But Black, Hispanic or Latino and low-income students fell significantly behind their white and Asian peers in Newton and the rest of the state. 

An NPS spokesperson told the Newton Beacon that the demographic disparities of the results will be the main topic of discussion at the Nov. 9 school committee meeting, and did not respond to questions about how the district supports students of color and low-income backgrounds ahead of the MCAS exams. 

Forty-nine percent of students in grades three to eight met expectations in English language arts, up from 46% in 2024. Seventeen percent of students exceeded expectations in both years, compared to seven percent of students across the state. 

The results were similar for math. Sixty-nine percent of students in grade three to eight met or exceeded expectations in last year’s exams, a slight increase from 67% in 2024. Only 41% of students met or exceeded expectations on the math test statewide in 2025. 

Across grade levels and subjects, Newton consistently outperformed the rest of the state. Newton’s science scores were particularly strong, with 83% of students meeting or exceeding expectations on last year’s test. 

Nearly 20% of 10th grade students partially met expectations in math compared to nearly double statewide. For English, scores that met or exceeded the benchmark for 10th graders dropped six percentage points between 2024 and 2025. Statewide average scores on the test dropped by the same amount. 

This year marked the first time schools received the results of a civics test that was launched in full last year and has been in development since 2018. Seventy-two percent of Newton eighth grade students met or exceeded expectations, and nearly a quarter partially met expectations. 

Race and wealth disparities 

Asian students were the top performers in English, math and science across grade levels. Forty-one percent of students in grades three through eight exceeded expectations in math last year. A staggering 57% of Asian 10th grade students exceeded expectations in math, compared to 21% of Hispanic or Latino students and 5% of Black students. 

Science scores showed the same trend. Fifty-six percent of Asian 10th grade students exceeded expectations, compared to 7% of Black students. Nearly half of Black 10th grade students only partially met expectations on the science exam. 

Low-income students scored among the lowest for younger grades, with 42% of students only partially meeting expectations for English language arts in grades three through eight. However, 58% of low-income 10th grade students met or exceeded the benchmark for science and 53% did the same in math. 

The data also shows that English language learners lagged behind their peers across subjects, with a particular decline in math scores for 10th grade students. In 2025, 41% of English learners partially met expectations on the test, up from 26% in 2024. The percentage of students that exceeded expectations decreased from 16% to 5% in the same time period. 

The mixed results come following the U.S. News and World Report ranking of Newton South High School as the 20th best public high school in the state. Newton North High School came in at number 28. In a separate ranking published by Niche in late September, North was rated the ninth best public high school and South was ranked 17th. 

A complete breakdown of the MCAS test scores by school, racial background, income level and other indicators can be found on the DESE website.