FYI from BSF, 10.4.24
For all the talk of new declines in MCAS results, there is an age-old gap.
Like in years past, Boston's 10th grade MCAS results paced behind Massachusetts averages. But the topline doesn’t reveal the distorting impact of exam schools. Without the large enrollment and high proficiency rates of the exam schools, Boston’s results would look very different.
This is not as striking as the distribution of Boston’s high schools. In the state accountability system, which places schools in percentiles relative to their peers, exam schools stand very much alone.
This isn’t news. There have been reports and initiatives in place for some time. There is a decade-old high school “redesign” agenda, MassCore is being adopted, and many of the comprehensive high schools have been converted to grades 7-12. The logic went: aligning the grade patterns to receive students from PK-6 feeders, alongside exam schools, will help with enrollment and budgets. This also presented an opportunity for schools to have an additional two years with students to ensure they are college and career ready.
The most recent MCAS data raises questions about whether this strategy is working. The six Boston high schools that have been more recently converted to grades 7-12 posted extremely low 7th and 8th grade MCAS results.
Keep in mind, this data is buoyed by East Boston High School, which accounts for nearly ⅔ of the students meeting or exceeding expectations in this set. Several schools had entire grades in which no student met expectations.
Enrollment is an issue, too. These six schools combined enroll fewer 7th graders than two of the three exam schools.
Results like this don't tell you everything about how things are going in Boston high schools, but they do tell you something.
Next Wednesday, the Boston School Committee will review 2024 MCAS results.
Notes in the Margin
Evergreen issues in Boston this week. Teachers have an expired contract and are picketing outside of their schools. Buses continue to get attention for the wrong reasons. What should we do with empty school buildings, and what have other cities done?
Question 2 may need its own heading. A profile of one of the “Yes on 2” leaders, who left the classroom after refusing to administer federally and state required tests. Yes on 2 gained two prominent endorsers in Representative Ayanna Pressley and Senator Elizabeth Warren, mirroring the politics during last year’s teacher strikes. A teacher explains why she changed her mind and supports “No on 2.” The Washington Post endorses No on 2, drawing a surprising equivalence between Yes on 2 proponents here and Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida.
Boston is not the only place in Massachusetts contemplating school consolidation.
Long-form piece on cell phone bans in school. Attempts to do so in Fall River show it can be trickier than it sounds.
Have good attendance in Springfield? Your family may get to hit the slots.
Monday was the last day to spend or secure an extension to spend down federal pandemic funds. What did schools spend it on? What is left to do? School districts, like Boston, are reckoning with the inability to extend programming, such as mental health support.
The law of diminishing returns comes for all of us, including high-dosage tutoring.
Very interesting report from TNTP tries to identify effective public schools and distill their practices.
Those of us waiting to hear anything about education in the presidential election got guns instead, twice this week (Biden-Harris executive order, VP debate).
Your niece or cousin who is suddenly very interested in the University of Alabama is not alone. Why Northern kids are heading South for college.
