MCAS Math Practice

About the MCAS

Massachusetts gives the MCAS math test in grades 3 through 8 each spring, typically across two sessions of about 60 to 75 minutes. MCAS is built on the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks for Mathematics, which incorporate Common Core but include additional state-specific outcomes, and the test is developed by Cognia under contract with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). Most districts test in late April through mid-May; the official window varies slightly each year and is published by DESE the prior fall. As of 2025, MCAS is delivered fully on computer for grades 3-8.

The math test mixes selected-response, short-answer, and constructed-response items, plus technology-enhanced items such as drag-and-drop ordering and equation entry. Each grade has both a non-calculator session and a calculator-permitted session, and DESE supplies a reference sheet with formulas starting in grade 6. Score reports give a scale score (440 to 560) and one of four achievement levels, plus reporting category breakdowns aligned to the major content domains: Operations and Algebraic Thinking, Number and Operations, Measurement and Data, Geometry, and at upper grades Ratios and Proportional Relationships and Expressions and Equations.

Massachusetts voters passed Question 2 in November 2024, which removed passing the grade-10 MCAS as a high-school graduation requirement, but the grade 3-8 MCAS continues to be administered for federal accountability and is reported on the DESE School and District Profiles. Grade 3-8 MCAS also feeds the state accountability system that classifies schools and districts. There is no statewide retention rule tied to grade 3-8 MCAS results, but districts use the data for placement, MTSS tier decisions, and to inform Title I services.

Official source: https://www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/