FYI from BSF, 11.22.19
Some things we have read through recently…
The Old College Try (First Semester)
An immense amount of data exists around college completion in this country. But getting accurate, detailed, school-by-school data has been hard, particularly in Boston.
There is a lot in here, with a prominent focus on gaps within highly sought after schools (suburbs, Boston Latin, etc.). But we are going to zoom in on two topics - this week, just Boston. We asked three questions:
What is the overall long-term trend in college completion in Boston?
There is progress, but we have a long way to go.
*Within 7 years in Class of 2010; within 6 years in Class of 2010
The story here is over a decade in the making. In 2008, in a pivotal moment in his tenure, Mayor Menino responded to an alarming report from the Private Industry Council. The finding? That only around 1 out 3 of BPS graduates who attended college went on to graduate from college within 7 years.
There were press conferences, calls to action, new plans and new energy. And there was an ambitious goal - 70% college completion by the Class of 2011.
We have a ways to go, even with reported progress amongst BPS grads enrolled in college.
2. How are Boston schools doing in comparison to each other?
You can see for yourself. Here are all the Boston public (read: BPS and charter) college completion rates by school.
Most schools in Boston are below the state average, and below the Boston average.
Observation: every school above the averages have selective admissions and/or school-level autonomy.
As always, you have to correct for the size of Boston’s exam schools. Their large enrollment means that more BPS college graduates come from those three schools than the other 21 BPS schools combined. That is why it is possible to have the majority of BPS schools somehow below the BPS average.
Without exam schools, the BPS college grad rate drops to 26.2%.
3. What is to be done?
There have been good efforts to turn the tide on this, most notably Success Boston. The Globe piece also highlights the practice of high schools tracking and supporting its graduates. This may also may not be a K-12 problem. Early data on “early college” is encouraging. We may need new postsecondary models like Duet.
An immense amount of effort and attention was dedicated to achieve the initial gains over the past decade, and they are all worth it because it meant more kids are on a path to productive, independent lives.
It will take more and different to move the needle.
Notes in the Margin
Agreement can be hard to find in today’s politics and policy, but all Massachusetts legislators agree that schools need more money (particularly for historically marginalized students) and that the state has a say in how that money is spent. The Student Opportunity Act passed unanimously on Wednesday, and will be signed into law soon by Governor Baker.
Boston School Committee met again on Wednesday. Here is the agenda. Materials from the meeting on November 13th are now online, including a big BPS strategic plan update.
The state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education also met this week. Materials here, including discussion of Kaleidoscope, the state’s new “deeper learning” initiative.
School Matters