FYI from BSF, 10.14.22
2022 MCAS Deeper Dive (II)
It was well-reported that the pandemic, remote learning, and interrupted schooling hit Boston’s immigrant families and English learners particularly hard.
The academic ramifications have become increasingly clear.
Across all grades, no subgroup’s achievement fell further or rebounded less than Boston’s English learners.
Very few schools posted improvements for English learners in grades 3 through 8.
Data from 10th grade was slightly more encouraging, particularly in ELA.
Still, deep in the state MCAS reports, you can stumble upon some sobering facts. Last year, there were ~14,000 English learners in Boston Public Schools. In 8th grade, only 7 English learners passed the ELA MCAS; just 18 for math. Only 6 English learners exceeded expectations on the 10th grade ELA or math MCAS.
This same report rings a siren for all of Massachusetts. It is concerning to see only 8% of English learners pass the 10th grade MCAS in Boston, before you scan right to learn that the figure is 5% statewide.
At Wednesday’s Boston School Committee meeting, the district released its analysis of the 2022 MCAS results, featuring programs (page 17) and investments (page 23) to support English learners. With investment, the assets of multilingual learners are activated and bear fruit; former English learners consistently outpace peers in proficiency.
But, we must consider the scale. With more assessment data becoming available, research released this week indicates that federal stimulus funding could be undercounting learning recovery needs by at least $135B, as much as $930B.
What does that mean for supporting our English learners?
Notes in the Margin
The remaining Boston School Committee meeting materials are here. There was an additional meeting last night, a retreat that featured Superintendent Skipper’s priorities.
What exactly are these literacy screenings that we recently mandated by the state? Read here.
The pandemic has gone long enough that we are in a retrospective stage. A new working paper indicates that changing health conditions likely affected reopening decisions in 2020 and 2021. An essayist calls on readers to not just focus on learning loss, but also the impact of the pandemic on families and educators.
The ACT, the content-heavy alternative to SAT, is reporting significant declines.
The fall brings assessment data, school rankings, and their discontents. There can be debate on how schools are defined as “good” or “bad.” But there should be no debate whether families want information to make their own judgements on that topic. Boston School Finder had 53,000 users last year.
Other Matters
Go deep on how two Boston schools have navigated the last few years.
Boston Day and Evening Academy striving to engaged disengaged students.
The Otis in East Boston built a strong foundation for family engagement and, probably not coincidentally, posted one of the larger learning recoveries last year in Boston.