Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School sophomores again have outpaced their mainland peers in all three areas of state-mandated standardized testing, according to newly-released results from the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS).

While 2022 remains the school’s high-water mark following the pandemic disruptions — that year, 73 per cent of 10th-graders who took the test were deemed to have met or exceeded state expectations in English language arts, compared with 56 per cent in 2025 — school officials said they are pleased with this year’s results.

“Overall, this was a great report,” principal Sean Mulvey said, citing strong gains among English learners and former English learners, children with disabilities and other student subgroups on the tests administered last spring.

Taken as a whole, however, the school’s English language arts and mathematics scores showed slight declines from 2024, mirroring a statewide trend.

Of the 175 Martha’s Vineyard sophomores who took the English language arts test last spring, 56 per cent met or exceeded state expections, according to the results released Monday. Statewide, the number was 51 per cent. Last year, 63 per cent of the test-takers met or exceeded the expectations for English language arts, compared to 57 per cent statewide.

Mathematics results varied this year at the regional high school, from 51 per cent of 179 students meeting or exceeding expectations in 2024 to 50 per cent of 173 students in 2025. However, the percentage of students partially meeting expectations in math rose from 37 to 42, while those who met no expectations went from 12 per cent in 2024 to 9 per cent this year.

Until this year, students were required to pass the 10th-grade MCAS in order to graduate from high school. State voters abolished the requirement last November, leading the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School committee to raise the passing grade for core courses from 60 to 65.

“The student motivation, when they are taking the [MCAS], may have changed,” Mr. Mulvey said told the Gazette.

A guidance counselor at the school until he was tapped for principal this summer, Mr. Mulvey said he feels most students try to do their best on the standardized tests for reasons of personal and school pride, regardless of graduation requirements.

Educators receive more detailed versions of the MCAS results, allowing them to tailor their teaching methods, Island superintendent of schools Richard Smith told the Gazette. If a significant number of students are failing to pass in a specific area, he said, teachers can look at ways to strengthen instruction in that area.

“If it’s just an individual student, that’s when we start building individual plans for support and remediation,” Mr. Smith said. “I don’t want to say I like the MCAS, but if it’s used in the manner it was intended to be, it is most helpful because it is the only common assessment in the state.”

Mr. Mulvey said the school is in its second year of an every-day math program for ninth-grade algebra students, designed to raise their performance on the MCAS.

“That cohort of students — this year’s sophomores — will be taking it in the spring,” he said.

Elementary students also take the MCAS, which is administered in grades three through eight. Mr. Smith said this year’s results indicate progress at all four of the Island’s elementary districts.

“I’m very pleased with what I’m seeing from a summary standpoint,” he said.

Tisbury School experienced a slight slump overall, but showed strong improvement in its English learning populatione, Mr. Smith said. Edgartown and Chilmark showed particularly strong gains, he said, and Oak Bluffs students made substantial progress for the second year in a row.

The Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School, which is supported by taxpayers but operates independently, was classified by the MCAS as making moderate progress.