Monday’s release of Spring 2016 MCAS test scores showed Wareham Public School District students are behind in some academic categories while officials attempt to shed the districts low performing status.

Last year, Wareham High School lost it’s designation as a Level 1 school, which meant students were no longer meeting state-mandated performance goals. The high school, along with the middle school, are considered Level 3 schools by the state and are among the lowest performing 20 percent of similar schools.

MCAS results are categorized by different achievement levels: proficient or higher, advanced, proficient, needs improvement and warning/failing. Students in grades five, eight and 10 are administered the test, which quizzes them on English, mathematics and science.

Grade 10 science scores revealed a wide gap between Wareham scores and the state average as 45 percent of local students scored proficient or higher, compared to the state’s 73 percent. In the same subject, students scored 8 percent in the advanced category against the state’s 29 percent. Forty-six percent of students were scored in the needs improvement category compared to the state's 21 percent average.

Grade 10 mathematics scores weren’t as disparate, but still behind state averages. Sixty-eight percent of students scored proficient or higher compared to the state’s 78 percent. In the advanced category, 40 percent of Wareham students scored while the state average was 54 percent. Under needs improvement, 21 percent of Wareham students earned that designation compared to 15 percent for the state.

Grade five science scores showed promise as students bested the state’s 47 percent in the proficient or higher category with a 49 percent score. Students were close to state averages in the other categories as well: 14 percent to the state’s 16 percent (advanced), 36 percent to the state’s 31 percent (proficient), 34 percent to the state’s 38 percent (needs improvement) and 16 percent to the state’s 14 percent (warning/failing).

Students did not fare well on the state’s Cumulative Progress and Performance Index. The index combines information about narrowing proficiency gaps, growth, and graduation and dropout rates over the most recent four-year period into a single number between 0 and 100.

Schools should score 75, but Wareham students overall scored 44.

For the complete results from the State Department of Education, visit the department's website.