FYI from BSF, 05.19.23
As changes in laws and media coverage has turned its attention to literacy, Mississippi and several Southern states got the Washington Post treatment this week for advancing/maintaining literacy rates - as measured by the 4th grade National Assessment of Educational Progress - while other states saw declines, particularly from 2019 to 2022.
That includes Massachusetts where, over the past two decades, early literacy proficiency rates have actually decreased (-7), while Mississippi posted very significant growth (+15).
And while Massachusetts may want to rest on the laurels of previous proficiency, those laurels wilt pretty quickly when you look at subgroup data. For example, low-income students in Mississippi outperformed low-income students in reading in Massachusetts in 2022.
As many observers of education news already know, this progress is being ascribed to changes in literacy instruction (sometimes referred to as “the science of reading”). Longer summary here, but, briefly, the discrediting of a widely adopted literacy approach, tenacious and captivating journalism, and learning disruptions have resulted in 30+ states passing legislation that requires evidence-based literacy instruction (phonics, phonemic awareness, vocabulary acquisition, etc.).
Massachusetts has had an evidence-based literacy initiative for several years (Mass Literacy). This past fall, Massachusetts added a new requirement for school districts to screen for early literacy progress. There are even two bills filed in the Massachusetts House and Senate modeled after other states.
So are the innovations of Mississippi coming to the Commonwealth soon?
Observers of recent history will note that even the pandemic - both in crisis and recovery - did not result in many centralized state mandates. Frameworks and guidance can be given, yes, but with a tradition of control ensconced in 351 school districts (Maryland has nearly the same child population as Massachusetts and just 25 school districts), schooling in Massachusetts is a local matter.
It is more likely that local school districts and schools will, by and large, continue to decide how to teach children to read and write; this works pretty well for some, but not everyone. The state will retain some regulatory power, and can intervene when there are concerns about student learning. This has been more or less the approach to education policy in Massachusetts for some time now.
Same approach, same results.
Notes in the margin
There seems to be some movement on new school safety policies in Boston. There was a City Council hearing and it is reported that BPS and BPD are close to formalizing agreements. Boston isn’t alone, as other cities are rethinking school-police reforms.
Boston’s fiscal watchdog is raising concerns about improper BPS financial payments.
School districts have followed the private sector in leveraging HB-1 visas to address labor needs, in this case, bilingual teachers.
Another busy week in labor-management disputes. Amherst and Holliston teacher unions voted no confidence for their respective superintendents. Wellesley and Braintree both averted potential teacher strikes. Senate President Spilka does not support legalizing teacher strikes.
Brockton is considering very significant budget cuts and layoffs.
Garnering less attention this past week is the curious Massachusetts tradition of off-cycle, mid-spring, local elections. For example, the town of Medway posted ~4% turnout on Tuesday for its local elected officials, including school committee.
Funding does matter in schools.
Due to new FTC rules, it will be more difficult for social media companies to make money off of kids.