Rhode Island is inching closer to meeting Massachusetts' standardized test scores, but not necessarily because its students are doing better.
According to the2026 Rhode Island Comprehensive Assessment System (RICAS) results, just 33% of students in grades three through eight met or exceeded expectations in English language arts, while roughly 32% did so in math. Both figures remained largely unchanged from last year.
Gov. Dan McKee set a goal for Rhode Island students to match Massachusetts' performance by 2030. While the gap between the two states has narrowed, much of that change is due to declining scores in Massachusetts rather than significant improvements in Rhode Island.
John Papay, director of the Annenberg Institute at Brown University, spoke with Ocean State Media's Joe Tasca about what's behind the stagnant scores, what schools can do differently and whether Providence's school board is prepared to oversee the district following seven years of state intervention.
Interview highlights
On why Rhode Island's shrinking test score gap with Massachusetts isn't necessarily good news
Papay: Understanding how Rhode Island students are doing compared to Massachusetts students is a really important piece of information, but the way that the gap has closed is that Massachusetts students have been doing worse over time. Rhode Island students have stayed about the same, and so I don't think that's the way that anyone would want to close the gap with Massachusetts.
On whether cell phones, AI and changing reading habits are contributing to poor literacy scores
Papay: It's a good question, and I don't have a great answer to know exactly what's happening here. It does raise questions about AI use, about cell phones and those types of things, but also about the types of instruction that are happening in classrooms across the state.
I think we've seen this across the country again, people turning away from reading whole novels, and I think there are open questions about how that's influencing students' learning across the range of English language arts.
On whether changes to reading curricula will help improve student performance
Papay: I think there's good evidence across the country that reforms in the broad bucket of science of reading and thinking about how do we teach early literacy are important and are helpful. But I think that, in some ways, more than the specific package or curriculum that students are using, it all comes down to instruction and how teachers are teaching in the classroom and how effective they are.
I think sometimes we tend to see this as sort of an either-or between teaching math and reading and between focusing on broader parts of the curriculum, arts, social studies, history. And I think the bigger question is how do we create rigorous, joyful, and engaging learning environments with ambitious instruction and high expectations for all students?
On whether Providence's school board was ready to assume control of the district after a seven-year takeover by the state
Papay: I think that one of the key criteria for returning control was that the district was going to have an effective governance structure and an effective school board to govern the system well.
... It seems that there are clear governance challenges on the board. I think it does raise questions about whether the board, as currently constituted, is ready to do the serious work of governing the school system in ways that will lead to better outcomes for students and focus on students and student learning.
