The 2024 MCAS and Accountability results, released on Tuesday, September 24, 2025, by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), weigh heavily on the Framingham Public Schools. The Massachusetts Accountability Model uses multiple data points to calculate a school’s percentile and criterion targets. These factors include achievement, student growth, English language proficiency, chronic absenteeism, advanced coursework, and other indicators. As a result of these factors, 11 out of 13 of our schools experienced accountability percentile dips in comparison to the 2023 ratings. Cameron Middle School, McCarthy Elementary School, and Potter Road Elementary School have been added to the overall classification of “requiring assistance or intervention.” Framingham High School is no longer designated as “requiring assistance or intervention.”

Particular attention at the state level has been on the statistics across the Commonwealth with respect to chronic absenteeism. The state’s overall rate for chronic absenteeism, classified by students missing more than 10% of the school year, or 18 days in an entire school year, is a significant area to attend to.  For context, students are in school for 16 school days in the month of November. Essentially, chronic absenteeism is the equivalent of missing an entire month of learning.  The data demonstrates that students who are not chronically absent across the Commonwealth see an increase of 14-18 points in English Language Arts (ELA) and 16-19 points in Mathematics in comparison to peers who are chronically absent. In short, attendance matters in the ability for students to access Tier I curriculum and meet grade level expectations. 

While the Framingham Public Schools recognizes that grades 3-8 demonstrated meeting or exceeding targets across subgroups in most cases for chronic absenteeism, strategic approaches have been taken to address the challenges as it remains that one in three students are absent regularly. Our high school rates of chronic absenteeism are similar in that one in three students are absent regularly however, various subgroups continue to struggle with meeting targets set by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). Thus, a priority across all schools and classrooms is to pay particular attention to establishing a greater sense of belonging and engaging families for improved attendance. 

Framingham High School's performance in English Language Arts (ELA) reveals a seven-point gap compared to the state average, with 45% of students meeting or exceeding expectations. In science, 42% of students meet or exceed expectations, which is 7 percentage points below the state average. Math performance shows 39% of students achieving this benchmark, lagging by about nine percentage points behind the state average.

Overall, while Framingham High School demonstrates a solid foundation across subjects, there remains a notable difference between the school's results and state benchmarks, particularly in math and science. Compared to the previous year, performance in Science and ELA shows no significant change.

The performance of students in grades 3-8 remains an area of significant focus as we continue to address the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The scores are largely consistent with the previous year. In Science, 26% of students in grades 5 and 8 are meeting or exceeding expectations. Similarly, Math performance shows a slight decrease of one percentage point, with 21% of students achieving grade-level proficiency. Meanwhile, English Language Arts (ELA) performance reveals that only 22% of students in grades 3-8 are meeting or exceeding expectations, underscoring a continued challenge by which the Framingham Public Schools Strategic Plan, the identified Instructional Priority, and continued partnerships with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education address directly. 

Third graders who took the MCAS exam in the Spring of 2024 were Kindergarten students during the pandemic, and the results across Framingham and the Commonwealth confirms that unfinished learning from the pandemic continues to impact students’ academic performance. We recognize the impact and are continuing the work towards improved progress through multiple action steps. The Framingham Public Schools has just completed the first year of its seven-year strategic plan, which focused on a coherence model prioritizing high-quality instruction.  Last school year, the Offices of Teaching and Learning and Student Supports focused their efforts on the implementation of high-quality curriculum for Literacy across all elementary schools while also engaging in a review, adoption, and implementation for the 2024-2025 school year for middle schools.  It is important to note that research indicates that an implementation dip, a temporary decline in academic performance, often occurs when a new curriculum is adopted. This is a natural part of the change practice of adopting new curriculum as teachers, students, and leaders adjust to the new materials, instructional strategies, and assessment methods. Once new curriculum becomes fully integrated, performance tends to stabilize and improve. 

Additionally, the Framingham Public Schools has begun the implementation of a three-year rollout of a new science curriculum in middle school, OpenSciEd. Throughout the 2024-2025 school year, a curriculum council composed of representatives across the district, particularly in grades preK-8 will engage in a review process to evaluate and select a new math curriculum that will be implemented in the 2025-2026 school year. 

The district strategic plan is additionally focused on the efforts of expansion opportunities for our youngest learners in order to provide earlier access to buld foundational early literacy and numeracy skills. Over the course of the last two years, we have expanded opportunities for PreKindergarten for children throughout Framingham and have moved from 62 seats in 2021-2022 to 204 seats for 2024-2025 school year. In future years, we look forward to further expansion to ensure increased early childhood opportunities to build the foundational skills for learning. We recognize that instilling a strong commitment to attendance and academic success at an early age will continue to support our efforts to have all students and schools meet and achieve expectations.