The state education department says the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School needs “assistance or intervention,” based on results from standardized tests administered last spring. 

Island 10th-graders didn’t meet or exceed state-set targets for improvement in the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, and the number of students who didn’t take the tests triggered the intervention designation, according to an accountability report from the state education department.

“When I open these accountability reports, I am expecting improvement ... but what I’m seeing is a decline,” Island superintendent of schools Richard Smith told the Gazette, following the release of state testing data late last month.

The “requiring assistance or intervention” designation applies only to students who fit into one or more of four categories, according to the state report: Students with disabilities, English learners and former English learners, low-income students and those identified as Hispanic/Latino, a broad category covering all of South America.

The school is in need of “focused/targeted support” to get more 10th-graders from these groups to take the MCAS test, according to the state.

The accountability report reflects the absence of eight students who didn’t show up for at least one of the spring tests, high school principal Sara Dingledy told the high school committee Monday night.

“It’s not as a result of our MCAS scores,” Ms. Dingledy said.

Overall, the school’s 10th-graders did well enough on the standardized tests to outperform state averages for the second year in a row, according to results released last month.

“Our MCAS scores, relative to the state and our neighbors, are actually high and strong and we have gained ground since before the pandemic,” Ms. Dingledy said.

“Where we are struggling … is our participation rate,” she said.

Schools are required to test at least 95 per cent of the students in each of 12 demographic subgroups, so that the results will accurately represent the school as a whole, Ms. Dingledy said.

The high school fell below that rate in all four of the subgroups listed in the accountability report.

The MCAS is considered a high-stakes test because public high school students in Massachusetts must pass it in order to graduate.

Those who don’t pass in 10th grade have two more years to retake the test, while students who pass — defined as meeting or exceeding state expectations on standardized English language arts, math and science exams — are off the hook as long as they meet the rest of their graduation requirements.

Some 10th-graders, however, have not been motivated by the goal of graduating, said Ms. Dingledy, who told the board she and the high school staff are struggling to keep certain students engaged.

The high school population grew steeply last year, with a particularly sharp increase in English learners who had no previous experience with the MCAS, she said.

“Our dropout rate has stayed consistent, [but] I think we took the hit in our participation rate … We know we need to improve,” Ms. Dingledy said.

The high school will need the school committee’s help to address the challenge of chronic absenteeism, she said.

“We’re working to keep students, who are absent frequently, engaged until we have an alternate option for students to attend,” Ms. Dingledy said.

“Our team’s focus is getting students to finish high school, no matter how long it takes,” Ms. Dingledy told the committee, noting that while the four-year graduation rate is below 90 per cent, the five-year graduation rate is above 92 per cent in an improving trend.

“Many students that join our school will not finish in four years,” she said.

The state accountability report also calls out MVRHS for failing to meet an overall target for improvement over last year’s MCAS scores.

Nonetheless, Ms. Dingledy expressed pride in the results.

“We beat the state,” she said.