DESE Writing Guide October 2025-1.pdf

DESE Writing Guide

October 2025 Edition

Contents

Introduction

Where Do I Find … ?

Correspondence from the Commissioner

Usage

Punctuation

Formatting

Common Errors (and How to Avoid Them)

More References

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Page 1 Last updated October 2025

Introduction

What font does DESE use? (Arial! For more information, see the Formatting Section.) Is special education capitalized? When is mathematics abbreviated as math? What should a legislative report look like? And what, exactly, is an em dash?

Welcome to this updated edition of the Writing Guide for the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education! This guide answers these questions and more by codifying correct spelling, punctuation, and usage for common DESE terminology and standard formatting and design for official documents.

Major updates in the new edition include:

• Affirming our commitment to DESE as the abbreviation for the agency’s name

• Clarifying acceptable usage for student groups and often-used phrases

• An update to practices regarding correspondence from the commissioner

• Links for where to find other templates and guides

This guide covers the major usage issues common to the agency as a whole. For questions not covered here, DESE’s standard reference is the Chicago Manual of Style.

The most recent version (September 2024) is available for use in the Commissioner’s Office. Please contact Helene Bettencourt to borrow the hardcopy guide.

In addition to what is included here, please keep in mind a few tips about good writing:

• Use active voice and avoid passive voice.

o The teacher gave each student a golden apple. (not Golden apples were given to each student.)

• Trim unnecessary words.

o The Writing Guide is designed to help DESE staff communicate more clearly. (not The current Writing Guide was created with the goal of supporting implementation of clearer communication.)

• Communicate clearly and directly.

o The guidance issued yesterday applies to all K–12 students beginning

August 1, 2025. (not Department guidance generally takes effect within a few months of its approval.)

Please send suggestions for improvements to future editions of the Writing Guide to Jackie Reis in the Commissioner’s Office.

Understanding Writing Guide Entries

Senator Abbreviation: Sen. Spell out on the first usage and in To: lines of memoranda, letters, etc. Specify state senator

Entry words are in boldface. These show the accepted form of the term in question or the topic of the entry.

Abbreviation: indicates the correct abbreviation.

Text explains usage.

Examples of correct and incorrect usage are in italics. References to other entries are in boldface.

https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Page 2 when the context may be unclear. See titles for rules on capitalization.

• To: Senator Robert Antonioni

• Senator Antonioni served in the legislature for many years.

The formatting of this guide is borrowed liberally from The Associated Press Stylebook, Basic Books, 2004.

Bullets show examples of usage in context.

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Page 2

Where Do I Find … ?

The most recent version of this Writing Guide document

On SharePoint, in the Guides and Instructions section of the Commissioner’s Office page.

DESE letterhead, DESE memorandum, and BESE memorandum templates*

On SharePoint, in the Templates and Collateral section of the Commissioner’s Office page.

Document approval form for the documents that require the commissioner’s signature

On SharePoint, in the Communication Guide section of the Commissioner’s Office page.

DESE legislative, Advisory Committee, and other report templates*

On SharePoint, in the Templates and Collateral section of the Commissioner’s Office page.

DESE/BESE PowerPoint template*

On SharePoint, in the Templates and Collateral section of the Commissioner’s Office page.

PowerPoint Slide Guide On SharePoint, in the Guides and Instructions section of the Commissioner’s Office page.

DESE logos

On SharePoint, in the Logos and Designs section of the Commissioner’s Office page.

DESE fonts On SharePoint, in the Guides and Instructions section of the Commissioner’s Office page.

DESE DesignEd playbook DESE DesignEd playbook

* Always download the latest version of a template every time you use one, as the templates are updated frequently. If you have difficulty locating or using these templates, contact Helene Bettencourt.

https://massgov.sharepoint.com/sites/doe-commissioner/SitePages/Guides-and-Instructions.aspx https://massgov.sharepoint.com/sites/doe-commissioner/SitePages/Stationary-and-Collateral.aspx https://massgov.sharepoint.com/:f:/r/sites/doe-commissioner/Guides%20%20Directions/Communication%20Guides?csf=1&web=1&e=JOX0JI https://massgov.sharepoint.com/sites/doe-commissioner/SitePages/Stationary-and-Collateral.aspx https://massgov.sharepoint.com/sites/doe-commissioner/SitePages/Stationary-and-Collateral.aspx https://massgov.sharepoint.com/sites/doe-commissioner/SitePages/Guides-and-Instructions.aspx https://massgov.sharepoint.com/sites/doe-commissioner/SitePages/Logos-and-Designs.aspx https://massgov.sharepoint.com/sites/doe-commissioner/SitePages/Guides-and-Instructions.aspx https://massgov.sharepoint.com/:w:/r/sites/doe-commissioner/Guides%20%20Directions/Communication%20Guides/DESE%20Fonts%20June%202025.docx?d=wa3c89e9729634fa1a3acca0d7d03283b&csf=1&web=1&e=2QZf6e mailto:helene.h.bettencourt@mass.gov

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Page 3

Correspondence from the Commissioner

The Commissioner’s Office has instituted the following sign-off policy for letters and memoranda sent out with the commissioner’s signature.

Style

• All letters and memoranda should be submitted on the letterhead that includes the commissioner’s name and title. See the Where Do I Find…? section of this document for the locations of the electronic templates.

• All documents should be written in Arial 12-point font.

• The commissioner's name should read:

Pedro Martinez Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education

Signature approval process

• Please allow at least 3 business days for the review and approval of documents.

• Thoroughly review all content for accurate spelling, grammar, and formatting prior to submission, including legal review as applicable1.

• The approval process for documents that require the commissioner’s signature is done via email. Attach documents. Do not send via shared link.

• Ensure that the commissioner has approved the communication timeline and, if appropriate, has approved the substance of the document.

• Email documents to Helene Bettencourt for review with the subject line: “Doc approval for commissioner’s Signature”. The email should include a copy of the signed approval form. See “Where Do I Find? Section”.

• Anibal and Helene will review the document, follow-up regarding edits, and will contact you if they have questions regarding content.

• Once signed, the document will be returned via email to all staff included in the email chain.

Each office is responsible for maintaining copies of all letters signed by the commissioner for future reference.

1 Legal review best practice: If a letter or memo will need legal review, program staff prepare the draft document, manager reviews, edits and approves the final draft for legal review. The document should then go to Commissioner’s Office for signature.

mailto:helene.h.bettencourt@mass.gov https://massgov.sharepoint.com/:w:/r/sites/doe-commissioner/Guides%20%20Directions/Document-Approval-Sheet-11022018_4382.docx?d=wac509fc233ba44ee9fae2d3bef4b8c12&csf=1&web=1&e=CI4qlb

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Page 4

Usage academic degrees Use an apostrophe in bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, etc. but not in associate degree and not in Bachelor of Arts, Master of Science, etc. People with doctorates hold a doctoral degree. Abbreviation: forms include periods but no spaces (for example, B.S., A.B., Ph.D., Ed.D.). Abbreviations should only be used after a person’s name and should generally be avoided altogether in prose. Abbreviations are acceptable in signature lines, lists of names (such as a list of speakers at a conference), and so forth. Academic degrees should be lowercase when they are referred to generically (master’s degree) and can be capitalized when they refer to a specific degree (“Master of Business Administration”).

• Only a small fraction of the state’s entering ninth graders go on to earn a bachelor’s degree eight years later.

• Governor Healey holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard College and a law degree from Northeastern University School of Law.

• Governor Healey holds a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard College (not has a B.A.)

and a law degree from Northeastern University School of Law.

• Patrick Tutwiler, Ed.D.

academic subjects Use lowercase for all subject areas except for words that are proper nouns or adjectives (such as English and Chinese). Do not capitalize the word department unless you are using it as part of an official department title.

• The mathematics department at Brockton High School includes six teachers and a curriculum specialist.

• Teachers of English, Spanish, and art history convened for a discussion of literature about the artist Goya.

• Advisory group member Steven Rivkin is a member of the Amherst College Department of Economics.

• Advisory group member Steven Rivkin is a member of Amherst College’s economics department.

accountability and assistance categories Since 2018, DESE has been putting schools and districts in one of two broad categories: those requiring assistance or intervention and those not requiring assistance or intervention. Use underperforming and chronically underperforming only when referring specifically to state law or regulations.

• The Acton-Boxborough Public Schools are classified as not requiring assistance or intervention.

• Statewide, 21 school districts were identified as requiring assistance or intervention in 2024.

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Page 5 achievement gap The achievement gap is the difference in performance between two or more groups. Some people and organizations use the term “opportunity gap” instead.

• Massachusetts has large achievement gaps between English learners and native English speakers.

acronyms and abbreviations Avoid acronyms (except DESE) where possible; they make it more difficult for the average reader to understand what is being said. If needed, organization names that will be used frequently within a document may be abbreviated to acronyms after the first usage in the main text. The acronym should be defined immediately after the actual organization name, using parentheses to set it off. Do not define an acronym in a headline or subhead; do so in the body of the text. Do not use an acronym for an organization if you are only going to use the organization’s name once or a few times in the text; just write it out each time.

• The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) serves students in grades pre-K–12 and adult learners.

• The Department of Public Health (DPH) is the largest state government agency in terms of employment

Advanced Placement Abbreviation: AP. Always capitalized.

advisory council Use lowercase when referring generally to advisory councils;

capitalize when referring to the official name of a particular council.

• The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education has 13 advisory councils.

• Over half of the members of the Special Education Advisory Council are parents of children with disabilities.

a.m. Use lowercase, with periods and with a space after the time (e.g., 9 a.m., not 9a.m.

or 9am).

Board of Elementary and Secondary Education Abbreviation: Board. (Note that this is an exception to the Chicago Manual of Style’s guidelines on capitalization, which would not capitalize board.) Do not abbreviate as BOE.

• Currently, Katherine Craven chairs the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

• The Board is one of only a few nationwide to include a voting student member.

bylaw Not by-law.

capitalization Avoid unnecessary capitalization and be consistent on capitalization practices within a document. Capitalize official and proper names of organizations and programs but not organization or program types used generically (see advisory council for an example). Use title case (All Important Words Capitalized) for titles and top-level subheads of documents, reports, etc. Use sentence case for second-level and lower subheads. See the Chicago Manual of Style for usages not covered in this guide.

(See titles for information about capitalization and titles.)

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Page 6 career technical education Abbreviation: CTE. Should not be hyphenated. Avoid using vocational

• Many students participating in career technical education enroll immediately in college after graduation.

Certificate of Mastery, Koplik Certificate of Mastery Should be spelled out and not abbreviated.

certification See licensure.

charter school Use lowercase unless referring to the formal, official title of a school.

• The Board is voting next week on whether to approve the applications of four new charter schools.

• Argosy Collegiate Charter School is in Fall River.

class References to a specific cohort as a class, such as the class of 2005, should be in lowercase.

• Students in the class of 2007 were 2 percentage points more likely to graduate in four years than those in the class of 2006.

commissioner See titles for full rules for capitalization. Specific examples follow.

• Commissioner Martinez issued a statement.

• The commissioner issued a statement.

• Pedro Martinez, commissioner of elementary and secondary education, issued a statement.

• Commissioner Martinez is the commissioner of elementary and secondary education.

Commonwealth of Massachusetts Abbreviation: the Commonwealth. Capitalized.

Massachusetts should be referred to as the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, not the state of Massachusetts. State may substitute for Commonwealth in more general usages. See state.

• The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

• More than 80 percent of the Commonwealth’s students earn the Competency Determination on the first try.

• More than 80 percent of the state’s students earn the Competency Determination on the first try.

Competency Determination Abbreviation: CD. Capitalized.

• In 2025, the Board updated regulations related to the Competency Determination.

computer-based testing Should include a capital B when used in a title (“Computer- Based Testing”). When possible, avoid using different terms in the same document to

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Page 7 refer to the acronym “CBT” – it can mean computer-based test or computer-based testing, but not both, in the same document.

Congress When referring to the U.S. Congress, Congress is always capitalized.

Congressperson See Representative.

criteria, criterion The word criteria is the plural of the singular criterion. Therefore, parts of speech agreeing with criteria should be plural.

Cumulative Progress and Performance Index Abbreviation: Cumulative PPI. See Progress and Performance Index.

curricula The correct plural of curriculum. Use when referring to more than one curriculum.

• The school’s curricula for both English language arts and mathematics were weak.

curriculum framework When referring to the general concept of a curriculum framework, use lowercase. When referring to a specific framework, capitalize as for proper nouns, italicize since it is a title, and consider including a date if there may be confusion over the version. Note that framework is singular, not plural.

• Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework

• Massachusetts History and Social Science Curriculum Framework

• The Massachusetts English Language Arts Curriculum Framework is revised regularly.

• The curriculum frameworks are revised regularly. (plural here because this refers to them as a group) data The word data is the plural of the singular datum. It is increasingly common, however, for dictionaries and style guidelines to permit the use of data as a singular term, much like information. The latest versions of the Chicago Manual of Style, Merriam-Webster Dictionary, and American Heritage Dictionary approve of this usage, particularly in informal writing or technical documentation. In formal and scientific writing, the plural is often still preferred.

• Example of plural usage: Our data show substantial improvement in graduation rates this year.

• Example of singular usage: Our data shows substantial improvement in graduation rates this year.

data-driven, data-based, data-informed, evidence-based In the world of education policy, these phrases usually modify nouns such as decisions or instruction and therefore should be hyphenated. See hyphen.

decimals Use no more than one numeral after the decimal point, preferably none, in tables, charts, and text. Too many places after the decimal creates a false sense of

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Page 8 precision. Include a zero before the decimal when reporting numbers and percentages below 1 (e.g., 0.3, not .3).

• (preferable) In fiscal year 2008, 95 percent of DESE’s state budget went to local aid.

• In fiscal year 2008, 94.9 percent of DESE’s state budget went to local aid.

• Average ratings grew from 3.4 to 3.9, an increase of 0.5 points.

Department See Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

DESE The only acceptable abbreviation of the agency’s name. It should be used on second reference. See Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

disabilities Students receiving special education services should be referred to as students with IEPs (SWI) when used in the context of data as it is more precise and differentiates students with 504 plans but may generally be referred to as students with disabilities; this may be abbreviated as SWD after the first usage if the abbreviation is defined. See special education.

• Students with IEPs might receive supports inside and outside of a general education classroom.

districtwide Not district-wide.

dropout Noun. Not drop-out. Note that the verb form is to drop out, not to dropout.

Educational Vision Capitalize when referring to DESE’s specific Educational Vision.

Lowercase when referring to someone’s more generic educational vision.

• The Department’s Educational Vision calls for all students to be known and valued.

• The candidate explained his educational vision.

Edwin The state technology system designed to provide curriculum, instruction, and data analysis tools to districts. Subsections of Edwin include Edwin Analytics and Edwin Teaching and Learning. Not EDWIN.

elementary school Use lowercase unless referring to the formal, official title of a school.

• Teachers in elementary schools tend to have less mathematics preparation than mathematics teachers in high schools.

• The Cheshire Elementary School is in Cheshire, Mass.

email Not e-mail, E-mail, or otherwise.

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Page 9

English language arts Abbreviation: ELA. When referring to English language arts as a general subject, use lowercase. When referring specifically to the MCAS English Language Arts tests, capitalize the first letter of each word.

English learner Abbreviation: EL. Capitalize only the first word. The Department’s preferred term is English learner, but the term is interchangeable with English language learner. The Department does not use limited English proficiency to describe this student group.

• English learners who arrive in the U.S. as teenagers often find it difficult to graduate from high school in four years.

EPIMS The official name is the Educator Personnel Information Management System.

ethnicity See race.

Expanded Learning Time Abbreviation: ELT. Not Extended Learning Time.

extracurricular Not extra-curricular.

federal Use lowercase if used in the general sense; capitalize if used as part of a proper noun.

• a federal mandate

• the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston fiscal year Abbreviation: FY. Generally, write it out in prose (with the year in full) and abbreviate in tables and charts (with FY and the last two digits of the year, e.g., FY09).

If choosing to abbreviate, do not put a space between FY and the year. The same rules apply for federal fiscal year, abbreviated FFY. The state fiscal year runs from July 1– June 30. The federal fiscal year runs from October 1–September 30. In either case, the fiscal year that runs from 2007 through 2008, for example, is called the 2008 fiscal year.

• Chapter 70 aid increased by $220 million in fiscal year 2008.

• Governor Patrick unveiled his FY09 budget in late January.

• The Reading First program saw substantial cuts in the federal fiscal year 2009 budget.

• The Reading First program saw substantial cuts in the FFY09 budget.

former English learner Abbreviation: FEL or former EL. This term describes students who were once English learners but whose English proficiency is currently comparable to that of a native speaker and who have exited to non-Sheltered English Immersion education services within the last four years.

former limited English proficient/proficiency This term has been discontinued. See former English learner.

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Page 10 free or reduced-price lunch Not free/reduced price lunch, free or reduced price lunch, or free or reduced lunch. Often students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch are referred to as low-income. See low-income.

gender pronouns, courtesy titles, and names People have a number of ways to convey their gender identity, and their choice of pronouns–she/her, he/him, they/them– should be respected. When gender identity is unknown, use they/them. If you are unsure about which courtesy title someone prefers, check with the individual. While Mr., Mrs., Ms., and Dr. are widely used, Mx., pronounced as /mɪks/, is a gender-neutral option that some people prefer. For more information on language usage related to gender identity, see the GLAAD Media Reference Guide and this entry from AP Style Blog. Lastly, make sure to use the name an individual prefers, whether that is a nickname, middle name, or other name. One clue that you might need to double check someone’s name is when the name in their email address is different from the way they sign it at the bottom of their email. When in doubt, ask which name they prefer.

• Mx. C, a beloved teacher, was celebrated for their students’ mathematics success.

grade All of the following uses are acceptable: grade 10, 10th grade, ninth grade. Do not capitalize grade in these uses, and use one form consistently within a document. When referring to an MCAS test, use grade X MCAS test. If grade is part of a compound adjective modifying a noun (e.g., ninth-grade students), it should be hyphenated. Both 10th-graders and students in 10th grade are acceptable.

• DIBELS is intended for use with students in kindergarten through grade 6.

• DIBELS is intended for use with students in kindergarten through sixth grade.

• Scores are improving on the grade 10 MCAS Mathematics test.

• All fifth-grade students should have their eyes examined by a doctor.

grade span Not gradespan or grade-span.

group names The full list of DESE group names, including race/ethnicity, selected populations, gender, and disability category, is available on SharePoint. In reports and memos, follow the formatting suggested in this document, but in data reports, graphs, charts, and tables, group names must be spelled out without abbreviations. Follow the guide for consistency in capitalization and punctuation.

high needs students Defined as students who fall into at least one of the following categories: low-income students, current and former English learners, or students with disabilities.

high school Use lowercase unless referring to the formal, official title of a school.

• Student representatives from 12 high schools participated in the forum.

• Students from Brockton High School participated in the forum.

house of representatives Abbreviation: house or House, with the appropriate capitalization for the context. See legislature.

https://glaad.org/reference/transgender/#:~:text=If%20you%20are%20not%20certain,wish%20to%20assign%20a%20gender https://www.apstylebook.com/blog_posts/7 https://www.apstylebook.com/blog_posts/7 https://massgov.sharepoint.com/:w:/r/sites/doe-commissioner/_layouts/15/doc2.aspx?sourcedoc=%7B73860CA2-C8E0-4E2B-8522-71A1CFAC9C01%7D&file=DESE%20Website%20Group%20Labels.docx&wdLOR=c0F478C97-4646-4239-A681-46C61A34BE82&action=default&mobileredirect=true

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Page 11

Individualized Education Program Abbreviation IEP. Not Individual Education Program. The special education services that will be received by a student. Students who are receiving special education services should be referred to as students with IEPs when used in the context of data, as the term is more precise and differentiates students with 504 plans but may generally be referred to as students with disabilities;

this may be abbreviated as SWD after the first usage if the abbreviation is defined.

internet Not Internet.

kindergarten Abbreviation: K. See pre-kindergarten.

legislature Capitalize when preceded by a state name or when implicitly referring to a single state’s legislature. Lowercase when used generically or in plural. (The same principles apply to house of representatives and senate.) Members of the Massachusetts Legislature may also be called members of the General Court.

• If the Board approves the proposed budget, DESE will submit it to the Legislature.

• No legislature has approved the amendment.

• To: Members of the General Court (e.g., in a letter or memorandum) licensure The Department refers to educators in Massachusetts as licensed, not certified. There are several types of licenses, including: Preliminary, Initial, Professional, and Temporary. All are capitalized.

• Mid-career professionals entering teaching typically apply first for a Preliminary license.

limited English proficient This term has been discontinued. See English learner.

low-income Often, students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch are referred to as low-income. Preferably, refer to students with low incomes or students from low-income families rather than low-income students, since it is the families and not the students that have low incomes. See free or reduced-price lunch and student group.

• The program targets schools with high percentages of low-income students.

• (preferable) The program targets schools with high percentages of students from low-income families.

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Abbreviation:

DESE after the first full usage. Do not abbreviate as MADOE or DOE. (Note that the usage the Department is an exception to the Chicago Manual of Style’s capitalization guidelines.)

• The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is in Everett. DESE selected 14 instructors, who will teach the course in pairs.

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Page 12

MassCore Our state recommended high school program of studies for college and career readiness. Not MassCORE or MASSCore.

mathematics Spell out completely (rather than abbreviating as math) and use lowercase. Exception: Capitalize when referring to an MCAS Mathematics test, as that is its official name. See MCAS.

MCAS The official name is the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System.

Capitalize MCAS and the tested subject when referring to a specific test, but do not capitalize grade. Use test rather than assessment.

• Bob received a 520 on the grade 5 MCAS Mathematics test.

• Karen received a 520 on the grade 8 MCAS English Language Arts test.

• The MCAS tests cover English language arts, mathematics, and science and technology/engineering.

MCAS achievement level descriptors The levels are Exceeding Expectations, Meeting Expectations, Partially Meeting Expectations, and Not Meeting Expectations.

Tests given prior to 2017 had different performance levels: Advanced, Proficient, Needs Improvement, and Warning or Failing. At that time, Warning applied to tests in grades 3 through 8, while Failing applied only to tests in high school. All performance levels are capitalized, and they are almost always italicized as well, especially in MCAS documentation and reports.

• Parents and guardians of students who score below Meeting Expectations are encouraged to talk to their child’s teacher about their child’s results.

middle school Use lowercase unless referring to the formal, official title of a school.

MTEL The official name is the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure.

NAEP The official name is the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

numbers In most cases, spell out numbers under 10; use figures (numerals) for 10 and above. A few common exceptions: If the number is the first word in the sentence, spell it out, even when the number is a year, or rewrite the sentence to avoid the usage at the beginning. If the sentence includes numbers both below and above 10, use figures for both. Always use figures with percentages. Note that there are many other exceptions;

consult the Chicago Manual of Style for clarification. Also see numbers in tables (in the Formatting section) and percent.

• Only six school districts statewide had filed their applications on time.

• Eighty percent of students entering ninth grade in 2003 had graduated by 2007.

• Two thousand two marked the highest level of Chapter 70 funding. (But better:

The highest funding level for Chapter 70 was in 2002.)

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Page 13

• Many substantially separate special education classrooms have between 3 and 10 students.

• More than 8 percent of students failed a grade 10 MCAS test on the first try but later passed.

online Not on-line.

onsite Not on-site.

percent In text, preferred style is to spell out percent rather than using the % symbol.

The % symbol is always acceptable in tables and charts. Always use figures (numerals), even if the percentage is less than 10 (6 percent, not six percent), except when the number is the first word in a sentence. Precede percentages smaller than 1 percent with a zero (0.6 percent, not .6 percent). In general, use no more than one numeral after the decimal point (e.g., 11.5 percent, not 11.54 percent); none (11 percent) is often preferable. Follow the same rules for percentage change, percent growth, etc.

• In Brockton, 13 percent of students are English learners.

• The share of students graduating on time increased by 0.8 percent.

• The state saw a 3 percent decline in the number of students enrolling in college this year.

p.m. Use lowercase, with periods and with a space after the time (e.g., 9 p.m., not 9p.m. or 9pm).

postsecondary not post-secondary.

pre-kindergarten Abbreviation: pre-K. Not prekindergarten.

preschool Not pre-school. (Incidentally, the reason pre-kindergarten is hyphenated but preschool is not is that hyphens should be omitted unless needed for clarity. Preschool is clear and easy to read, but prekindergarten would not be. See hyphen.)

professional development points Abbreviation: PDP, PDPs. Not capitalized.

proficient Capitalize and italicize when referring to the old MCAS performance level;

use lowercase for general concept of proficiency. See MCAS performance levels.

• One of DESE’s objectives is to challenge all students to proficiency and beyond.

• In 2014, 57 percent of third graders scored Proficient or above on the MCAS Reading test.

program Only capitalize names of specific programs, not kinds of programs (e.g., special education and regular education in lowercase but Connecting Activities in capitals). Only capitalize the word program itself if it is part of the official title of the program (e.g., National School Lunch Program but Title I program).

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Page 14

Progress and Performance Index Abbreviation: PPI. Under DESE’s previous accountability system, the Progress and Performance Index was a metric that combined information about student achievement, growth, and graduation and dropout rates into a single number between 0 and 100. This measure was discontinued in 2018.

race The racial and ethnic groups for which we most commonly report data are listed below. Use the official terms below to refer to these groups when reporting demographic (student, educator, etc.) data that DESE collects. See student group for the official names of the groups measured for reporting purposes. More information is available on DESE SharEd.

Official name

American Indian or Alaska Native

Asian

Black or African American

Hispanic or Latino

Multi-Race, Not Hispanic or Latino

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

White

• This year’s MCAS tests showed substantial improvement for Black or African American students in all grade levels.

• A recent study showed that Hispanic or Latino students are more likely than white students to be taught by an educator teaching out of field.

Representative Abbreviation: Rep. Spell out on the first usage and in To: lines of memoranda, letters, etc. Specify state representative when the context may be unclear.

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives may also be called Congressman. See titles for rules on capitalization.

• To: Representative Patricia Haddad

• To: Representatives Patricia Haddad and Geraldine Creedon school year Abbreviation: SY. Not schoolyear. The school year that runs from fall 2007 through spring 2008 is the 2008 school year. Generally write out in prose (with the year in full) and abbreviate in tables and charts (with SY and the last two digits of the year, e.g., SY09). If choosing to abbreviate, do not put a space between SY and the year.

schoolwide Not school-wide.

seasons The seasons are winter, spring, summer, and fall (or autumn). Do not capitalize.

• The Department issued the fall 2008 report in October.

• The report will be issued in the spring.

https://massgov.sharepoint.com/:w:/r/sites/doe-commissioner/Guides%20%20Directions/DESE%20Website%20Group%20Labels.docx?d=w73860ca2c8e04e2b852271a1cfac9c01&csf=1&web=1&e=vQdW2N

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Page 15 senate See legislature.

Senator Abbreviation: Sen. Spell out on the first usage and in To: lines of memoranda, letters, etc. Specify state senator when the context may be unclear. See titles for rules on capitalization.

• To: Senator Robert Antonioni

• Senator Antonioni served in the Legislature for many years.

sheltered English immersion Abbreviation: SEI.

significant difference Reserve use of the term significant difference for situations in which there is a measured, statistically significant difference between groups. If no statistical tests have been performed, use a synonym such as substantial, large, considerable, sizeable, etc.

special education This term should be used to refer to special education programs and should not be abbreviated as SPED, SpEd, etc. The students in those programs should not be referred to as students in special education, but should be referred to as students with IEPs when used in the context of data as it is more precise and differentiates students with 504 plans, but may generally be referred to as students with disabilities (SWD) or students receiving special education services; the abbreviation may be used after the first usage if the abbreviation is defined.

staff The collective noun staff may be either singular or plural, depending on context, though most commonly it is used in the singular.

• Our staff has commented on the draft. (implies a collective unit)

• Our staff have commented on the report. (implies several individual people from the staff were involved; if that is the intent, it is often clearer to write, e.g., Our staff members have commented on the report.)

standards-based In the world of education policy, this phrase usually modifies a noun such as reform and therefore should be hyphenated. See hyphen.

state Lowercase in all state of usages but note that Massachusetts should be referred to as the Commonwealth (not the state) of Massachusetts. Capitalize when state is part of the full and proper name of a governmental body. Spell out the whole name of states when standing alone; follow AP style to abbreviate a state that follows a city name. See Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

• the State Ethics Commission

• the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

• Residents of Massachusetts pay sales tax; residents of New Hampshire do not.

• The capitals of the New England states are: Montpelier, Vt.; Concord, N.H.;

Augusta, Maine; Hartford, Conn.; Providence, R.I.; and Boston, Mass.

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Page 16

State House The building downtown on Beacon Street with the shiny gold dome is the State House, not the state house. Exception: press releases and other materials for the media, which should follow the AP style guide of Statehouse.

statewide Not state-wide.

STEM Stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Use as an abbreviation only after writing out the full phrase on the first usage.

SIMS The official name is the Student Information Management System.

students with disabilities Abbreviation: SWD. Not disabled students. Students receiving special education should be referred to as students with IEPs when used in the context of data, as it is more precise and differentiates students with 504 plans, but may generally be referred to as students with disabilities (SWD); the abbreviation may be used after the first usage if the abbreviation is defined. Students with disabilities is people-first language. People-first language emphasizes the person, not the disability.

By placing the person first, the disability is no longer the primary, defining characteristic of an individual, but one of several aspects of the whole person.

students with IEPs Abbreviation: SWI. Students with disabilities may be referred to by this term when used in the context of data as it is more precise and differentiates students with 504 plans.

student group See group names. Not subgroup.

titles Capitalize formal titles appearing before, but not after, a person’s name. If a person’s title includes the name of an official program, the program should be capitalized. General references to positions should be lowercase. Titles in signatures are capitalized. See capitalization and Chicago Manual of Style sections 8.21 to 8.35 for more explanation and examples.

• Commissioner Martinez issued a statement.

• The commissioner issued a statement.

• Pedro Martinez, commissioner of elementary and secondary education, issued a statement.

• Pedro Martinez is the commissioner of elementary and secondary education.

• Brittany Duffy is the director of human resources.

• Director of Human Resources Brittany Duffy announced the launch of a new employee wellness program.

• Representative Kenneth I. Gordon is co-chair of the Joint Committee on Education. Rep. Gordon has served in this capacity for several months. (or The representative has served…)

• Helene Bettencourt, Associate Commissioner (in a signature line)

TIMSS The official name is the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study.

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Page 17

United States Spell out when used as a noun. Use the abbreviation U.S. (with periods and no spaces) when used as an adjective.

• The United States is the third most populous country in the world.

• The U.S. Department of Education has a budget of about $68 billion.

U.S. Department of Education May be referred to as the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Education Department, ED, or USED. Do not refer to it as USDOE or USDE; that is the U.S. Department of Energy.

versus Spell out in ordinary usage; use v. for court cases.

• It came down to his story versus hers.

• Hancock v. Driscoll was decided in 2005.

vocational technical See career technical education.

website Not Web site or Website.

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Page 18

Punctuation ampersand (&) References to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in prose should write out the and.

apostrophe Use an apostrophe to indicate possession or omitted letters (contractions).

In most (but by no means all) cases, form the possessive of a singular noun by adding ‘s; form the possessive of a plural noun by adding only an apostrophe. A good rule of thumb is to include the s after the apostrophe if you would pronounce the s when speaking and to exclude it when you would not. Do not use an apostrophe in pronouns (such as its) or with plurals of letters or numbers. See Chicago Manual of Style sections

7.17 to 7.30 for more detail.

• Chair Craven’s memorandum indicated that DESE should take action quickly.

• Commissioner Martinez’s opinion is that the policy has been effective.

• Students’ scores will be available in the fall.

• Massachusetts’ flag. (Note that it is better to say, “The Commonwealth’s flag.”)

• The children’s choir will perform at noon. (Note that children takes an s after the apostrophe even though it is plural, following the rule of thumb of using the s when it would be pronounced if spoken)

• I’m certain he’ll get back to you soon. (Note that contractions are not appropriate for official documents)

• A GPA of 4.0 on a 4.0 scale indicates that the student earned all As.

• Bill Clinton was president throughout most of the 1990s. (’90s is acceptable only in informal usage)

• She graduated from high school in 1990, so she is now in her 30s.

colon Use a colon to introduce a list or for emphasis. Capitalize the word immediately following the colon if it begins a complete sentence. Use a period, not colon, preceding a collection of independent sentences, even when bulleted.

• To teach in a public school, teachers must hold one of four license types: Initial, Preliminary, Professional, or Temporary.

• Instructional services are the programmatic core of education: the part of expenditures most directly tied to actually educating students.

commas between phrases and sentences Use a comma when connecting two complete sentences with a conjunction such as and, but, or or. Do not use a comma when connecting two phrases. Note that however is not a conjunction, so it should be preceded by a semicolon, not a comma, in a compound sentence (but many would argue that one should not begin sentences with however in the first place).

• Practice tests are available online, and they can be downloaded for free.

• Practice tests are available online and can be downloaded for free.

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Page 19

• Practice tests are available online; however, they cost $10 apiece. (but better:

Practice tests are available online; they cost $10 apiece, however.)

commas in dates See examples.

• On July 1, 2025, Pedro Martinez started as the commissioner of elementary and secondary education.

• David Driscoll retired in August 2007.

• Today is Friday, March 7, 2008. (Note: not March 7th; use –nth forms only when the date numeral stands alone, e.g., Today is the seventh.)

commas in lists The Chicago Manual of Style recommends using a comma after every item in a list, including one immediately before the final and. This is now generally accepted practice in the United States because it makes complex groupings within lists clearer to the reader. Complex groupings may warrant semicolons rather than commas as separators, especially when items in the list themselves include commas (see semicolons). Please use this style in official DESE documents such as Board memos and legislative reports. Exception: press releases and other materials for the media, which should follow the AP style guide direction of omitting the final comma.

• Graduation rates are especially low for students from low-income families, English learners, and students with disabilities.

• Industries that employ a disproportionate share of STEM workers include professional and technical services, healthcare, information, and finance and insurance.

commas in numbers Use commas in all numbers of 1,000 or more.

dash There are two kinds of dashes: the en dash (–) and the em dash (—), so named because historically, their length was the same as the typeset widths of the letters n and m, respectively. The en dash is most commonly used to connect numerals or compound phrases and often substitutes for the word to or through. The em dash, often just called a dash, is used when a long break or pause is desired. The em dash may sometimes substitute for a semicolon in connecting two sentences together. Chicago style omits spaces around hyphens, en dashes, and em dashes.

• Students in grades 3–8 and grade 10 participate in the MCAS program.

• Most districts saw their Chapter 70 allocations increase in the 2007–08 school year.

• The Portland–Boston train leaves at 7 a.m.

• Three-quarters of the increase—$1.3 million—was supported by a grant from the Legislature.

Hyphens are often incorrectly used instead of en dashes.

incorrect: “The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education oversees K-12 education in Massachusetts.”

correct: “The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education oversees K–12 education in Massachusetts.”

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Page 20 ellipsis Used to indicate missing words in the middle of a block of quoted text. (When the omitted words come at the beginning or end of the quoted sentence, an ellipsis is not necessary.) Create an ellipsis with three periods in a row, and spaces before and after the ellipsis. The AutoCorrect feature in Microsoft Word will automatically reformat the three periods into the correct spacing for an ellipsis. If the ellipsis ends a sentence, add a fourth period. See the Chicago Manual of Style sections 11.51 to 11.71 for more details; we use the three-or-four-dot method.

• In the Gettysburg Address, President Lincoln stated, “our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation … dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”

• In the Gettysburg Address, President Lincoln stated that the new nation was “dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” (note: No ellipsis was needed, because the omitted words are at the beginning of the sentence) hyphen Use hyphens to join two adjectives modifying a noun and when necessary to avoid misunderstanding. Do not hyphenate adverbs to adjectives.2 Often words that are hyphenated when they precede a noun are not hyphenated when they follow the noun.

Use an en dash, not a hyphen, for ranges of numbers; see dash for more explanation.

• The 12-year-old students … (but, The students were 12 years old.)

• The co-op (versus the coop)

• Standards-based reform is a hallmark of the Massachusetts Education Reform Act.

• Fifteen school cafeterias are piloting a program to serve locally grown food. (not locally-grown)

• The United States is the third most populous country in the world. (no hyphens are required because third and most are acting as adverbs modifying the adjective populous) parentheses Use to denote less relevant or explanatory material, acronyms or abbreviations of previously defined terms, or explanations of unfamiliar terms and foreign phrases. Include the period (or other punctuation demarcating the end of a sentence) inside the parentheses if the entire sentence is in parentheses; otherwise, the period follows.

• Spending on instructional materials and equipment (such as textbooks and computers) has declined.

• The state has seen rapid increases in the number of non-native English speakers (up by 26,000 since 1997).

• Robert Frost remains America's favorite poet. (We remember him from Kennedy's inauguration.)

2 Many people think that adverbs are only words that end in –ly, but adverbs are actually any words that qualify, limit, describe, or modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Some examples of adverbs that do not end in –ly include more, most, little, less, least, worse, worst, soon, sooner, soonest, now, then, almost, never, high, low, and so forth when these words are being used to modify a verb, adjective, or other adverb, as opposed to a noun or pronoun.

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Page 21 quotation marks Use to denote quoted text and sparingly otherwise. In contexts other than direct quotes, it is almost always preferable to omit them. When closing quotation marks, put periods or commas inside the quotes. Question marks and exclamation points go outside the quotation marks unless they belong with the quoted matter.

Colons and semicolons always go outside the quotes. If you are directly quoting from a work, include appropriate citations for the reference. See Chicago Manual of Style section 6.8 and 6.9. See also block quotes and citations (reference) in the Formatting section below.

• The commissioner said, “I’m proud of the accomplishments of all our staff.”

• The commissioner said that he is “proud of the accomplishments of all our staff.”

• Who said, “Ask not what your country can do for you”?

• The minister said, “Will you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

semicolons Use semicolons to clarify a series of items (for example, in lists when the listed items contain commas) or to connect independent sentences.

• Chair Craven was joined by Pedro Martinez, commissioner of elementary and secondary education; Patrick Tutwiler, secretary of education; and M. Lee Pelton, CEO and president of the Boston Foundation, for the opening remarks.

• The grant applications were due last week; the commissioner decided, however, to extend the deadline.

spaces The advent of proportional-width fonts (in which the width of each letter varies, as compared to monospace…