Amherst Students Surpass Pre-Pandemic MCAS Scores in Grades 3-8
Photo: schoolsofwestfield.org
Source: Amherst Regional Public Schools
Students in the Amherst Elementary and the Amherst-Pelham Regional Public Schools in grades 3 through 8 have surpassed their pre-pandemic MCAS scores. The Amherst and the Amherst-Pelham Regional School Districts were among the sixty-three of the commonwealth’s 302 school districts to achieve this feat The Amherst District was recognized as one of 13 districts to achieve this in both ELA and Mathematics. Amherst-Pelham Regional Middle School was recognized for progress in Mathematics. Superintendent Dr. E. Xiomara Herman (Dr. Xi) credited the districts’ success to three foundational commitments that go beyond any single initiative:
1. Our Principals’ Dedication to high-quality instructional practices: Principals support teachers in using high-quality instructional materials, teams analyze data to plan interventions and supports, and the culture balances challenge with safety. At the district level, principals meet regularly in a Professional Learning Community, or PLC, where they study data together, share strategies, and hold one another accountable. This collaborative model ensures that what works in one school quickly becomes a shared practice across all schools, raising the bar for every child.
2. A Focus on Personalized Learning: Every day, students are greeted warmly, setting the tone for the day, and once inside, they step into small groups where instruction is shaped around their own goals. Students in the Amherst District chart the targets they had set with their teachers during data chats. That kind of ownership doesn’t happen by chance. It grows out of teachers and interventionists working in teams, reviewing data, creating individualized plans, and revisiting them through Child Study meetings. Personalized learning is systematic, but it is also compassionate, restorative, and grounded in the belief that every student deserves both patience and high expectations.
3. Unwavering Belief in Supporting the Whole Child: In the Amherst and Amherst-Pelham Regional Districts, instruction is not separate from identity; it’s wrapped into the whole child and their family story. Children step off the bus and are greeted as individuals; their languages, cultures, and identities are affirmed in the way staff interact with them. That emphasis on belonging creates the confidence students need to take academic risks, knowing they are seen and valued.
“When we commit to instructional excellence, when we personalize learning with care, and when we build schools where every child feels they belong, students thrive,” said Dr. Xi. “Amherst and Amherst-Pelham students are not just catching up, they are surpassing where they were before.”
I am glad to read Dr. Xi’s three foundations, but would be just as happy were they not connected to MCAS scores, which have a dubious connection to learning and have, since 1993, led to pinched and fallacious notions of curriculum, growth and development, and the relationship of “right answers” to understanding and curiosity.
I am so proud of our teachers!! The middle school principals cannot get credit for this, as there have been six separate principals since the pandemic (Diego Sharon, 2020-2023, Talib Sadiq, Rich Ferro, Doreen Reid. all 2023-2024), Michael Sullivan ((24-25, left in the Spring ), Juan Rodriguez (Spring 2025 to now). I am mystified that Dr. Xi doesn’t mention the teachers except as collaborators, as it is the dedicated core educators, paraeducators, and exploratory teachers who made this happen. I’m not saying I think MCAS are good, but if any credit is to be given to the educational success of our students, it should be to those teachers, and to the hard work of the students. Throughout all of these administrative changes, and despite the instability around them, the staff at ARMS has done a remarkable job creating a safe environment in which students can thrive.
Unfortunately, if MCAS has taken understanding and curiosity to the infirmary, shouldn’t we wonder — or worry — where AI might be taking it?
And, to echo LJH, it’s even more unfortunate that some of the best ARMS teachers have recently been forced out by budget cuts….
Might ARMS be in even better shape if the ARMS teachers themselves were in charge?