MCAS Long Compositions Downloads

Recently, I had inquries from several principals asking how to access their school's long compositions. I don't have access to these documents, but wanted to share the information that was given to me by the Measured Progress and the student assessment office at ESE.

The 2013 student compositions were made available for download at the MCAS Service Center web site last August (and then updated with the official results in September). Student compositions are accessible using the usernames and passwords that are mailed to school and district administrators at the start of each calendar year (schools should have received their letters about a week ago.) The username stays the same from year to year (an 8 digit number which represents a combination of the district and school codes) but the password will have changed since 2013.

To access the student compositions:

• Visit www.MCASservicecenter.com and choose MCAS and then MCAS Reporting
• Enter your 8-digit username and 2014 password.
• Click on Reporting. The compositions are located on a tab at the top of the page (MCAS Student Compositions). 
• Complete the Basic Filtering options and the student compositions should appear. They can be viewed, printed, or downloaded.

Be sure to keep your up-to-date password handy so that you can access the 2014 composition files in the fall of 2014!

If you have questions, you can contact the MCAS Service Center at 800-737-5103 between the hours of 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

New Year Updates

I wanted to share some updates that came in at the end of 2013 so that they aren't forgotten as we start a new year.

The 12/20 Commissioner's Weekly Update included a variety of timely items, including an opportunity for non-RTTT districts to access Edwin Teaching and Learning at no cost during the 2014-2015 school year. Interested districts should contact EdwinT&L@doe.mass.edu prior to January 10, 2014.


The materials from the 2014 Curriculum Summit are now posted on the ESE Web site, including information about the Model Curriculum Units (MCUs) and how the Curriculum Embedded Performance Assessments (CEPAs) can be used in District-Determined Measures (DDMs), as part of the Educator Evaluation system.

Finally, ESE has posted a survey about the ESEA waiver, seeking feedback from stakeholders about what changes might be made to further improve the state's accountability system. Parents, teachers, district and school administrators, school committee members, students, and other community members are encouraged to respond.

Happy New Year to all!