The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) published the the schedule for the 2021 High School MCAS administrations. The full details are available here.
The testing schedules for MCAS for grades 3-8 and the ACCESS for English learners dates are not yet available.
Grade 9 – Districts will have the option of administering the Biology MCAS is February 2021 for grade 9 students only. A passing score on one of the science MCAS tests is expected to be required for the class of 2024.
Grade 10 – Students are expected to take the computer-based English Language Arts and Mathematics MCAS in May 2021. Note that none of the science MCAS will be offered and the science MCAS requirement has been waived for the class of 2023.
Grade 11– Due to school closures in 2020, English Language Arts and Mathematics MCAS were not administered. Grade 11 students are expected to take the MCAS in January or May 2021. The science MCAS will not be offered and the science MCAS requirement has been waived for the class of 2022.
Grade 12 – Students who have not yet passed one or more of the English or mathematics MCAS will be eligible to sit for the English Language Arts and/or Mathematics MCAS in January or May 2021. DESE will not offer retesting for any of the science MCAS tests and a passing score will not be required for students graduating in 2021.
Appeals – For students seeking to apply for an MCAS appeal, DESE has reduced the number attempts for each test to 2 attempts.
DESE is expecting all MCAS tests to be administered in person and the testing window has been extended to allow for social distancing in schools while students are testing.
