Massachusetts K-12 Education Crisis

2025 MCAS Performance Dashboard — Data from Massachusetts DESE

42%
ELA Proficient
Grades 3-8
41%
Math Proficient
Grades 3-8
$21,886
Per Pupil
Spending
-6.4%
Traditional
Public School
58%
Not Proficient
ELA Statewide
59%
Not Proficient
Math Statewide
230
Districts Below
50% Proficiency
65%
Districts Under
Half Proficient
+27%
Spending Above
Required
56%
Homeschool
Growth 2019-25

Current MCAS Performance (2025)

District Performance Distribution — ELA

System-wide failure: 230 of 352 districts (65%) have fewer than half of students meeting standards. Only 6 districts achieve 75%+ proficiency.
-6.4%
Traditional
Public Schools
+56%
Homeschooling
Increase
+18%
Vocational-Tech
Growth
+11%
Charter School
Enrollment

K-12 Enrollment Change (2019-2025)

Families voting with their feet: Traditional public schools lost 6.4% enrollment while homeschooling exploded 56%. Parents are fleeing a failing system.
-10pts
ELA (Gr 3-8)
vs 2019
-8pts
Math (Gr 3-8)
vs 2019
-10pts
ELA (Gr 10)
vs 2019
-14pts
Math (Gr 10)
vs 2019

MCAS % Meeting/Exceeding Expectations (2019 vs 2024 vs 2025)

Five years post-pandemic, no recovery: Scores remain catastrophically below 2019 levels. Grade 10 math dropped from 59% to 45% — a 14-point collapse.

Grade 10 Score Changes (2024→2025)

High School Chronic Absenteeism by Group

30.2%
Gateway Cities
ELA Average
27.3%
Gateway Cities
Math Average
45.1%
Rest of State
ELA Average
15pts
Achievement
Gap

Gateway Cities vs. Rest of State

Persistent inequality: Gateway Cities lag 15-16 percentage points behind the rest of Massachusetts in both ELA and Math.

Gateway City Performance (MCAS 2025)

Holyoke catastrophe: Only 6% of students meet math expectations — the worst in the state. Lawrence and Lynn also in crisis.
$21,886
Per-Pupil
Spending 2024
+27%
Above Required
Minimum
42%
Students
Proficient ELA
No Gain
Achievement
Despite Spending

Per-Pupil Spending vs. Achievement (2022-2025)

Money isn't the answer: Spending increased from $19,712 to $22,500 (+14%), yet ELA proficiency barely moved (39%→42%) and Math stayed flat at 41%.
11.6%
Asian
Chronic Absent
18.3%
White
Chronic Absent
38.3%
Hispanic/EL
Chronic Absent
27pts
Gap Between
Groups

High School Chronic Absenteeism by Group

Grade 10 Score Changes (2024→2025)

Universal decline after requirement removed: Every single student group saw Grade 10 scores drop in 2025 after MCAS graduation requirement was eliminated.