Tucker Elementary School posted a 26-percentage-point jump in state accountability targets this year, the biggest gain among Milton's schools.
The school met 61% of its targets set by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) in 2026, up from 35% in 2025, according to data presented at the Milton School Committee's Oct. 28 meeting. The district as a whole saw a decline over the same period.
The gains were sharpest among Tucker's high-needs students. That subgroup went from meeting 13% of its annual targets to 87%, exceeding achievement targets in English language arts, math and science. Students with disabilities and low-income students exceeded achievement targets in both ELA and math. Black and African-American students exceeded math achievement targets.
Third-graders stood out: 78% met or exceeded expectations in math.
Carla Kosa, assistant superintendent for teaching and learning, called the results "bright spots" during the presentation. She said MCAS scores across the district have been flat for several years, a pattern she said is similar to other districts statewide and nationally.
How Tucker got there
District leaders traced the turnaround to a request Tucker's principal, Celeste Poag, made to the school committee last year. Poag, now in her third year leading the school, asked for additional support. The district responded by adding staff, creating stipend-funded positions for teachers to join instructional leadership teams and placing grade-level facilitators who work alongside classroom teachers.
One curriculum director described Poag's approach at common planning time meetings as precise and persistent, pressing every grade level on assessment results and pulling in specialists where teachers needed help.
A school committee member praised the results but urged caution. The member said that if strong results repeat next year, it becomes a pattern, and if they hold the year after that, it becomes a trend.
Scaling the model
District leaders said the instructional structures piloted at Tucker are now being expanded to all four Milton elementary schools. Provisions for grade-level facilitators and common planning time were written into the district's contract with the Milton Education Association (MEA), according to the presentation.
Josh Eaton-Kell, the district's new K-12 director of technology and analytics, told the committee that curriculum directors are visiting the other elementary schools to conduct deeper MCAS analysis, reviewing student item rosters and comparing them to released test items.
District-wide picture
Milton as a district met 67% of the state's annual goals, placing it in the "substantial progress" category. All six Milton schools fall in DESE's top classification, meaning none requires state assistance.
Among individual schools, Collicot Elementary ranked at the 95th accountability percentile compared to similar schools statewide. Cunningham Elementary sat at the 94th percentile, Glover Elementary at the 95th and Pierce Middle School at the 80th. Tucker rose to the 71st percentile.
Milton High School's progress toward targets declined, but administrators said they are cautious about interpreting that data because the MCAS is no longer required for high school graduation.
