Black and Hispanic students lag on MCAS test

Maria Sacchetti:

Ninety-four percent of the state's third-graders passed the MCAS reading test this spring, and 63 percent scored in the highest category, but the results of most black and Hispanic students remained stubbornly low, according to preliminary test scores released yesterday.

The statewide scores are identical to those from the previous three years, and they showed that the achievement gap persists along racial and ethnic lines. Most white and Asian third-graders are strong readers, the scores showed, compared with just 39 percent of black students and barely a third of Hispanic students.

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