Standardized test scores at Lexington Public Schools remain below pre-pandemic levels, five years after COVID-19 first shuttered schools.
Lexington is not alone in its struggle to raise scores. A Boston Globe story published in September found that statewide in 2025, scores on the standardized test known as MCAS are below 2019 and 2021 levels.
“Overall our results are high and the majority of students are succeeding, which we see across multiple indicators,” Superintendent Julie Hackett told LexObserver. “Our results also support continued focus on improving outcomes for certain student subgroups, and we remain deeply committed to this ongoing effort.”
The percentage of Black 10th graders meeting state standards in reading, writing and language skills dropped from 47% in 2019 to 33% in 2025, according to data presented to the Lexington School Committee last month. The decline mirrored statewide trends. Approximately 4.5% of Lexington Public School students are Black.
Scores also declined among other student groups in Lexington. For example, 10th grade scores in English skills fell from 91% to 87% among white students between 2019 and 2025. During the same period, Asian students, who are typically the district’s highest MCAS performers, dipped in mathematics from 99% to 97%.
“When we see the same decline across two different subject areas, that points to some variable that is not specific to the instruction,” said Maureen Kavanaugh, the district’s director of data strategy. “It is something bigger than just what happened in our English or math classes.”
“There are other shifting needs among our student population that have occurred over recent years that should be considered,” Dr. Hackett explained to LexObserver. “For example, we have had an increase in percent of students with IEPs since the pandemic, and also an increase of students with high needs receiving special education.”
“Many hypothesized the pandemic and other national and global factors and conditions that have occurred over the last few years would have a disproportionate impact on already vulnerable and marginalized populations, and we see evidence of this in our data,” Hackett said.
Massachusetts voters passed a ballot measure last year that ended the requirement for students to pass the MCAS test to graduate. Lexington, along with other towns such as Winchester and Lincoln, voted against the proposition. Even so, students will still take the standardized test each year and scores will be tracked.
Lexington is known for its academic excellence and typically places among the state’s top school systems. For example, English proficiency among Lexington’s public elementary and middle school students is the fourth highest in the state in grades 3-8, and sixth highest for 10th graders, according to the Lexington School District. Forbes ranks Lexington as the seventh-wealthiest town in Massachusetts.
Lexington has created a strategy to raise scores, assess student needs and adjust teaching strategies. The plan is currently being implemented, and school district officials say it should be fully incorporated in classrooms in two years.
“If anyone can truly close opportunity gaps, it’s Lexington,” Hackett said. “We have outstanding teachers and educational leaders who are working to address and narrow equity gaps for Black students and students with disabilities.”
Kavanaugh said classroom supervision and evaluation are the next steps in improving test scores. The goal, she said, is to understand the themes and patterns of scores and adjust to the needs of students.
This article is a partnership with the Boston University journalism program.
Besides Covid, what else changed around 2019? I’ll give you a hint. Dr. Julie Hackett was hired in the summer of 2018. Since then, her failed policies, failed curriculum decisions and focus on DEI instead of academics has led to the decline in learning at LPS. Wake up school committee and voters!