GREENFIELD — The 2024 District Report Card from the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education shows the Greenfield School Department was behind state averages in students’ completion of core curriculum, placement in advanced courses and ninth grade passing rates.

According to the department’s 2024 District Report Card, which was published earlier this year, the percentage of Greenfield High School graduates who have completed MassCore — the state’s curriculum guidelines — lies at 64.5%, roughly 19 percentage points below the state average of 83.7%.

MassCore curriculum consists of completing four years of English, four years of math, three years of a lab-based science, three years of history, two years of the same world language, one year of an arts program and five additional “core” courses.

Superintendent Karin Patenaude said the lack of MassCore completion is likely caused by students who do not pursue a four-year college track or switch their world language courses. She added that reaching younger students to inform them about the MassCore compliance might help improve the district’s core class completion.

“Some of it is due to some of those discrepancies, but we are always working with guidance and our guidance counselors at the high school, and really trying to front load some of the course planning work at the middle school next year,” Patenaude said. “That way, students know those pathways prior to entering high school.”

The report also stated that in 2024, only 62.7% of the district’s ninth grade students passed all of their classes — a 16-point deficit from the state’s average rate of 78.7%. Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Stephen Sullivan, noting that passage of ninth grade classes is a strong indicator of a student’s ability to graduate, said the district is considering implementing a benchmark assessment for ninth and 10th grade students to identify areas where they need to improve.

“The other thing we’ve talked about is setting up some better systems in terms of what to do when a ninth grader does fail a course, addressing what the next step is,” Sullivan said. “Can we intervene at the end of quarter one or at the end of quarter two to say, ‘Hey, you failed quarter one or you failed quarter two, but there’s hope and this is how we can work with you.’ Just because you failed a first quarter or first semester doesn’t mean that you’re going to lose credit for the year — there’s still an opportunity to pass.”

The percentage of 11th and 12th grade students completing at least one advanced course, such as Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or dual enrollment for credit, in Greenfield also lagged behind the state average by approximately 21%, according to the District Report Card. Patenaude noted the district plans to increase the number of students who are enrolled in advanced courses through the high school’s guidance department.

Both Patenaude and Sullivan noted that the district’s effort to fight back against chronic absenteeism — defined as being absent for at least 10% of the school year — remains a top priority. In 2022, more than 45% of the district’s student body was chronically absent, a percentage that the district nearly halved in 2023, when 21.8% of students were reported chronically absent.

In 2024, the District Report Card stated that 27.8% of students were absent for 10% of the year or longer — slightly more than the state’s 19.7% chronic absenteeism rate that same year.

“We’re continually working with families to tackle what is inhibiting some of our students from attending regularly, because we need them in front of us in order to tackle any of these issues,” Patenaude said. “That’s still a piece that is always on our agendas and all of us are working toward improving it.”

The District Report Card also showed a 53% score for the district’s Accountability Rating, a metric used by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to track districts’ progress toward improvement goals. The state classifies Greenfield’s rating as making “substantial progress” toward its targets.

“We have a lot of teachers and administrators who are working really hard and working to address the areas where we can improve. It’s really like a team effort and I think we’re on a good trajectory, but these things don’t change overnight,” Sullivan said. “There are a lot of factors and we want to make sure that we’re supporting teachers because they’re the boots on the ground and doing the hard work, but it really takes a village and we feel like we have a good team in place. We’re addressing the right things and we want to continue on that path.”

Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at acammalleri@recorder.com or 413-930-4429.