Schools struggle to explain MCAS changes as parents receive scores

Year after year, MCAS results suggested that Kittredge Elementary School had oodles of budding mathematicians. Sometimes almost half the students in grades 3-5 scored “Advanced” on the math exams.

But under the state’s revamped version of the MCAS this year, the school is adjusting to a new reality: Just 18 percent of students taking the math exams landed in the new top category, “Exceeding Expectations.”

Across Massachusetts, most schools experienced a comparable drop on the new test for grades 3-8 last spring. More changes are on the way. A revamped high school exam is expected to premiere in two years.