Boston - The Healey-Driscoll Administration is celebrating that Massachusetts has been awarded more than $40 million from the Biden-Harris administration to support the state’s literacy efforts and continued work to improve standardized assessments over the next five years. 

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has been awarded the Comprehensive Literacy State Development grant, the largest literacy grant offered by the federal government, receiving $38.4 million over the next five years. Massachusetts previously received this award and used it to create GLEAM, Growing Literacy Equity Across Massachusetts. This new funding will build on Literacy Launch and previous GLEAM grants to expand evidence-based and culturally and linguistically sustaining practices for English language arts and literacy in grades pre-K through 12 through additional grants to districts and schools.  

“Every student in Massachusetts needs to be able to read and read well. That’s why we created Literacy Launch to provide districts with the tools to make sure their students are receiving high-quality, evidence-based reading material. I'm grateful to the Biden-Harris Administration for this funding that will help us reach even more districts and students with these important resources,” said Governor Maura Healey. “Statewide assessments are an important measure of student achievement and help us ensure students across Massachusetts are receiving the high-quality education they deserve. This federal funding will enable high-quality instruction and on-going assessments in the critical science and technology STEM fields.”

“Education is a top priority for our administration, including strengthening access to high-quality reading material and reducing inequitable gaps in achievement,” said Lieutenant?Governor Kim Driscoll. “One critical area of focus is around literacy and helping our students to read well. Thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration and U.S. Department of Education, we can accelerate our efforts to provide Massachusetts’ local school districts and communities with the evidence-based literacy tools they need to set students up for success in school and life.” 

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has been working in close partnership with over 50 teachers and with feedback from thousands of students to create the innovative science and technology/engineering state assessment for grades 5 and 8 that includes investigations using computer simulations, as well as hands-on classroom-based assessments utilizing manipulatives and group work. The administration is being awarded $3.9 million this coming year through the Comprehensive Grants for State Assessments. The funding will provide professional development to science educators and support development of new curriculum-embedded science performance tasks for students in kindergarten through grade 8. These tasks will allow educators to assess students’ knowledge in real-time as part of on-going learning. The grant will also support districts in adopting high-quality science instructional materials. 

“In Massachusetts, we are prioritizing literacy because of the simple, yet profound reality that establishing literacy skills early is not only foundational to the remainder of a students’ education, it becomes a foundational marker for the remainder of their life. With Literacy Launch and this additional funding for literacy grants, we are providing districts with tools and resources to see to it that all students learn to read and read well,” said Education Secretary Dr. Patrick Tutwiler. “The federal funding will also support our continued efforts to improve standardized assessments and student experiences with them. The new science and technology/engineering state assessment is more dynamic, hands-on, and reflective of real-world experiences, engaging students in STEM.” 

“These significant federal investments will help more Massachusetts students become successful readers and improve science instruction and assessment,” said Acting Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Russell Johnston. “The grants are a huge boost for two of our goals: having individualized supports that enable all students to excel at grade level or beyond, and creating learning experiences that are relevant, real-world, and interactive.” 

The state’s fiscal year 2025 budget includes $20 million for Governor Healey’s?Literacy Launch Initiative: Reading Success from Age 3 through Grade 3, a bold strategy to expand access to evidence-based reading instruction for Massachusetts students. The initiative will provide competitive grants to school districts to adopt high-quality literacy materials and provide technical support, coaching, and professional development to educators. Literacy Launch builds on the multi-year technical support and funding for improvements in literacy teaching and materials DESE has offered since 2020, including GLEAM.  

The federal government requires that states administer to all students annual statewide assessments for specific grades and subject areas, including science. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education piloted the innovative science and technology/engineering state assessment for grades 5 and 8 during 2020–2023 with groups of students. A larger pilot took place in spring 2024 with approximately 12,000 students per grade. 

Here is a sampling of the feedback DESE has received on the science assessment: 

"This is teaching us to expand the knowledge and experience of our students in a way to put real-life problems in front of them."?-?Science teacher from 2022 science pilot assessment

"I liked that we were able to use our own data from our own experiments and not take them out of an article or a data table like usual."?-?Grade 8 student from 2021 science pilot assessment