Rockport schools fall short of several state targets, and leaders say this year is about results for students
At its Oct. 7 meeting, the School Committee heard the state's 2026 accountability results, set its own goal around student achievement and learned the district ended last year with $2.9 million in restricted reserves.
Rockport's schools missed several of the state's yearly improvement targets, school leaders told the School Committee on Wednesday. The committee responded by making student achievement the center of its own goal for the year.
Neither the elementary school nor the middle and high school needs state help or intervention. Both are making what the state calls "moderate progress" toward their targets. But the administrator who presented the results said the district is "certainly not excited" about where that progress stands.
A district leader said plenty of schools across Massachusetts are doing well, and the district has to ask why its students are not doing as well. The leader said that was fine to say on camera and the district would not make excuses.
The targets are not the same as MCAS passing rates. The state sets each school a target based on its own past scores, then checks whether it met it. A school can do well on MCAS and still miss a target. The district will present the MCAS scores themselves in two weeks.
2026 state accountability results
How Rockport's schools did against the state's targets
Rockport Elementary
- BeatChronic absenteeism target
- BetterEnglish and math achievement, up from last year but short of target
- DownScience achievement
- DownEnglish achievement and growth for students with disabilities
Rockport Middle and High
- BeatFive year graduation rate for the lowest performing students
- DownEnglish achievement in grades 6 to 8, for every student group
- Down10th grade science, though more students met or beat expectations
- DownChronic absenteeism, about 4 points more students missing school
Status for each school: "not requiring assistance or intervention," with moderate progress toward targets. Percentiles are a three year weighted average. Source: district presentation, Oct. 7, from DESE accountability reports.
Absences: better in elementary, worse in middle and high school
The elementary school beat its target for chronic absenteeism, which counts students who miss at least 10% of school days.
Rockport Elementary, students chronically absent
Lower is better. Bars are drawn on a scale of 0 to 20%. Source: district presentation, Oct. 7.
At the middle and high school, chronic absenteeism went the other way, with about 4 percentage points more students missing school. School leaders said older students often get to school on their own, and a couple of grades had much higher absences than others. Two staff members now track attendance every morning. This year the schools will add attendance improvement plans for students and are looking at home visits.
What happens next
School leaders said the state's targets come out in February, too late to plan around, so teachers focus on their own tests during the year. Committee members asked which new efforts, such as extra help blocks during the school day and new curriculum, are actually working. School leaders said that is the question for this year, and the district will report back on what works and what does not.
One committee member said the state's system is very complex and the results reflect one or two days last spring, and urged the staff to focus on what happens next for students. "Don't lose heart," the member said. "Just keep going."
The committee agreed its goal for the year will be to support the district's top priority, student achievement and growth, with regular updates through the year. It will also keep its goal of speaking up for the schools in the community. Branco will draft the wording. Oaks will miss the next meeting, so the committee plans to approve the goal at the meeting after that.
Last year ended in good shape
The district spent all the money the town gave it for fiscal 2026 and did not have to dip into the town's special education reserve fund, for the second year in a row. Fewer students needed outside evaluations, more services were handled in house, and lower oil and power use saved money that covered surprise repairs.
School reserves, June 30, 2026
Can pay for
- Direct services for students with special needs
- Direct services for general education students
- Surprise costs for specific students
Cannot pay for
- A new roof
- A school bus
- Health insurance or pensions
As explained at the Oct. 7 meeting. Employee health insurance and pensions are paid in the town budget, not the school budget.
Committee members stressed that the reserve is not a "slush fund." The district plans to use some of it to help finish the library project and the unit ventilators at the elementary school. The district also charged $176,000 in transportation to a grant.
Also at the meeting
Two student members of the committee's student advisory council, a senior and a sophomore, gave the student report. A member also thanked the third grade team, which held class in the gym after a classroom leak.
How we did this
Cape Ann Current watched the meeting video on YouTube and checked names against our earlier reporting and the agenda. This story was produced with the help of AI tools and checked against the documents listed below. If you see an error, tell us at [email protected].
Earlier coverage: Meetings today and Thursday (Oct. 7), the meeting preview. Same day in Rockport: the water committee and the Conservation Commission.
Sources
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