On Massachusetts's MCAS, Biology is reported on a scale from 440 to 560 (2022 to 2026), and each score falls into one of 4 performance levels. Reaching Meeting, at 500 or above, is the state's proficiency line.
The score ranges changed during these years, so each period has its own table below, newest first.
From 2022, Biology has a new score scale (440 to 560) and new level names, so a score from before 2022 is not directly comparable to one from 2022 on. Percentiles are, because each year is compared with its own students.
| Level | Score range | What it means | Statewide 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Not Meeting | 440–469 | The lowest level, well below the state standard | 24% |
| Partially Meeting | 470–499 | Approaching the state standard | 38% |
| Meeting | 500–529 | Meeting the state standard (the proficiency line) | 30% |
| Exceeding | 530–560 | The highest level, above the state standard | 8% |
| Level | Score range | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Failing | 200–219 | The lowest level, well below the state standard |
| Needs Improvement | 220–239 | Approaching the state standard |
| Proficient | 240–259 | Meeting the state standard (the proficiency line) |
| Advanced | 260–280 | The highest level, above the state standard |
Statewide in 2026, about 38% of the students counted for Biology reached Meeting or Exceeding. The bar above shows the share at each level (left = lowest).
Grade 10 ELA and Math count 10th graders who took the spring test; retests are not counted. Students take a high school science test in grade 9 or 10, so a year's Biology or Introductory Physics group mixes 9th and 10th graders; DESE's reporting rules for 2022 to 2025 count only students taking that test for the first time. In 2021 the science tests were open only to 9th graders and former students. Two older tests, Chemistry and Technology and Engineering, were last given in 2023 and few students took them. Students who took the alternate assessment (MCAS-Alt) are counted in the achievement levels but not in the average score, and a school counts only students enrolled there since October.
More on who is counted, and how: see how we count.
A score's meaning depends on where it lands in the ranges above, and on how it compares to other students who took the same test. Our free tool turns a Biology score into an estimated percentile versus the school, district and the whole state, so you can see where a score stands, not just its level.
Look up a Biology percentile →