A Signal, and a Lot of Noise (Part II)

Schools are displaying signs of unfinished learning. Pernicious racial disparities are evident within school systems. That was clear in our analysis last week of Boston Public Schools assessment data.

This is also clear in the other set of public schools in Boston - Boston’s Commonwealth charter schools.

The percentage of 10th graders meeting or exceeding expectations on the MCAS has fallen during the pandemic. More so in math than in ELA. Not to the degree of Boston, or the state, but down nonetheless.

One caveat. White and Asian students constitute less than 8% of the Commonwealth charter enrollment; the Asian population is so small in Boston charter high schools, it is not even reflected above. That aside, achievement gaps widened quickly in 2019 with the update of high school standards and assessment. One exception is Latino students - ELA proficiency actually increased.

A summary of 3-8 performance data reveals another clear trend. In Commonwealth charters, Black student performance lags behind all other racial groups in all years.

Black student performance in Boston’s Commonwealth charters outpaces Boston, even the Commonwealth, but fell relative to the state average with the onset of the pandemic. 3-8 Math is an example of this trend.

This week, different data. Different schools.

But the same city, the same conclusion:

It is true that schools can’t do everything.

But we should be able to expect them to do some things. We should be able to expect our schools to teach kids things. And all the available evidence tells us that the system is not doing that for enough Black and Latino students.

We don’t need more data or a data debate - we need action.

Education 2021

With events ramping up ahead of November 2nd approaching, there is currently no public forum or event being held on the topic of PK-12 education.

Reopening Boston, MA and Beyond

Boston School Committee met this Wednesday. After a federal judge again denied a lawsuit late last week, exam schools consumed a significant portion of the meeting. A lengthy analysis simulating the new admissions policy projected increased diversity in the future, and featured one significant omission - simulating admissions for this school-year. There was a sobering presentation on MCAS, and a few other matters covered.

There was no discussion of the district’s application for $276M in federal funds that was due earlier this week; the commission for that effort last met in July. Boston is not alone; many districts have not accessed significant federal funding, while there are examples of curious allocations in other parts of the country. It will be interesting to see how districts square this with new potential federal guidelines around equitable spending.

The Superintendent’s report did make some news, calling for a new task force to address buses, start times, and student assignment. The charge of this potential task force would be how children go to what school buildings - unclear whether or not it will address what goes on in school buildings. As a city, we are nearly 50 years past the crisis of 1974, and yet buses continue to be proxies for school and system quality.

There was lively discussion and public comments, but to date the city has been fortunate to avoid the raucous and even dangerous school board proceedings seen around the country.

Like other school districts, Boston is reporting issues with state-supported COVID testing. Notwithstanding this and other potential political pressures, mitigation is happening in schools. The weekly state report showed a decline in school-based COVID cases from last week.

Vaccination, likely soon to include 5-11 year-olds, will bend this curve further. California declared a first-in-the-nation requirement for child vaccination. Cambridge followed suit several days ago, with the city’s mandate not barring unvaccinated children from attending school, rather all school-related activities. It was reported that Boston is considering the same measure.