Preparing Students for MCAS

Each week, our council of experts and smart parents take your questions, give advice and share solutions in this parenting column. This feature will also be the place to drop in for a talk about the latest parenting hot topic.

So grab a cup of coffee and settle in as we start the conversation today with a topic and question:

Norton Public Schools recently received and reviewed their district's . While most students reached the target scores of 95.1 in English Language Arts and 92.2 in Mathematics, curriculum director Jennifer O'Neill noted that there was room for improvement, especially in math.

While schools are planning their next steps to improve those scores, such as utilizing a math specialist at Henri A. Yelle Elementary, monitoring the effectiveness of math programs in the middle school and focusing more on writing at the elementary level, what can parents do to help their children do better?

Also, do you think MCAS properly guages how well students are doing in school?

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