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<\/h3>\nThis report details the facts and figures of education in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as well as some current trends in the educational landscape of the state.<\/p>\n
This report was compiled by Ari Bersch.<\/p>\n
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Inequalities in Massachusetts public schools exist for a variety of factors including funding structures, disparate graduation rates, and school segregation, all of which perpetuate inequality.<\/span><\/p>\n Funding structures are one of many causes for inequality in Massachusetts\u2019 public education system.\u00a0 Because the vast majority of funding for schools comes from property taxes, school districts spend wildly different amounts in per pupil funding\u2013\u2013the highest a district spends per student in Massachusetts is Provincetown, which spends over $45,000 each year per pupil, while Dracut spends less than one-third of that at below $12,000 per student every year [4].\u00a0 These massive differences create vastly unequal learning environments for students in different areas of the state.<\/span><\/p>\n Also, graduation rates in Massachusetts are highly stratified along racial lines.\u00a0 While graduation rates for Asian and white students are 96.1 percent and 93.2 percent, respectively, those for African-American and Hispanic or Latino students are significantly lower at 84.4 percent and 80 percent, respectively [8].\u00a0 Graduation rates that differ greatly based on a student\u2019s race result in students from racial categories with lower graduation rates being less able to obtain high-paying jobs, which in turn, results in these students\u2019 children having fewer opportunities to attend well-funded schools and improve their families\u2019 fortunes.<\/span><\/p>\n These two issues converge in an especially pernicious way due to widespread school segregation in Massachusetts.\u00a0 An article from The <\/em><\/span>Boston Globe <\/span><\/em>explains that 10.4 percent of Massachusetts\u2019 schools were \u201cintensely segregated\u201d\u2013\u2013meaning that students of color comprise more than 90 percent of the school\u2019s population\u2013\u2013in 2019-2020, an increase from 7.8 percent in 2009-2010.\u00a0 Many \u201cintensely segregated\u201d schools where students of color make up the vast majority of the student population are outdated and often lack the technological capabilities necessary to deliver a modern-day education.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/b>Conversely, many schools that enroll primarily white students have recently been built or renovated and are home to state-of-the-art technology [32].<\/span><\/p>\n These inequities stem in part from the Boston Busing Riots of the 1970s.\u00a0 After the Boston Public Schools were forced to enact a desegregation program in 1974, many white families withdrew their children from the public schools, instead enrolling them in private schools or moving to the suburbs, where desegregation efforts were not as prominent [33].\u00a0 The sharp decline in the white population of Boston Public Schools has increased inequality in education in addition to preserving the racial isolation that was present prior to desegregation efforts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n However, Massachusetts has been working to overcome these inequities and provide equal opportunities for success to all students.\u00a0 One program designed to achieve this goal, the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO), has operated for over half a century.\u00a0 The METCO program buses students of color from the Boston Public Schools to wealthy, majority-white suburban districts.\u00a0 Students that enroll in the METCO program have been found to graduate from high school and attend college at far higher rates than similar students in the Boston Public Schools [32].<\/span><\/p>\n More recently, cultural competency was added to the Massachusetts Educator Evaluation Framework, reflecting the recognition of education officials in Massachusetts that such skills are necessary to cultivate equitable and genuinely inclusive classrooms for students of all backgrounds.\u00a0 This step is especially critical because it will ensure that teachers are equipped with the necessary tools to help all students feel part of classroom communities in schools that may be located in areas very different from their homes [30].<\/span><\/p>\n An educational trend in Massachusetts over the last decade has been the constantly shifting landscape of educational standards, standardized tests, and teacher evaluation methods.\u00a0 While these shifts have occurred throughout the country, they have been intertwined with the Commonwealth\u2019s historical place as one of the best states in the country for education and its desire to remain there.<\/span><\/p>\n Along with many other states, Massachusetts adopted the Common Core curriculum in 2010 to be eligible for grants under President Obama\u2019s \u201cRace to the Top\u201d program [15].\u00a0 In accordance with this decision, the state piloted the PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) exam in 2014 and 2015 [18].\u00a0 Although Massachusetts educators were some of the leading writers of these standards, the state replaced Common Core with its own set of standards in 2017 [17].\u00a0 In the same year, Massachusetts administered the \u201cNextGeneration MCAS,\u201d its own standardized assessment, instead of fully implementing the PARCC test [18].<\/span><\/p>\n Today, Massachusetts is again becoming a leader in the discussion around standardized tests, as students, teachers, and government officials are fighting back against MCAS.\u00a0 They argue that it is excessively burdensome on young children, does not accurately measure student learning, and the ways its results are used excessively harm students of color.\u00a0 Some, such as State Sen. Jo Comerford (D-Northampton) and State Rep. Jim Hawkins (D-Attleboro), are proposing reforms to make tests more reflective of what students learn in school.\u00a0 The new tests would involve group projects and process-based assessment, which more closely resemble what student students experience in the workplace.\u00a0 Various constituencies throughout the state have chosen to rethink the standardized test, a cornerstone of the educational experience of students for decades, an initiative that demonstrates why Massachusetts is a leader in education [34].\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Another example of Massachusetts being a leader in the field of education is how it has tailored the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) to its needs.\u00a0 Instead of adopting the standards exactly as they were written, Massachusetts educators evaluated the standards and compared them to what was then in place to create a set of standards that worked best for the Commonwealth and its students.\u00a0 Specifically, Massachusetts included more specificity in the language of the standards to aid teachers and placed greater focus on preparing students for college STEM courses and possible STEM careers, both of which help the Commonwealth’s students and teachers reach new heights in scientific disciplines [19].<\/span><\/p>\n Massachusetts has also shown its leadership in the field of education through changes to its teacher evaluation framework.\u00a0 In a time when teacher evaluation standards are ever-changing, the Commonwealth has worked to include critical skills for 21st century teachers, such as cultural proficiency and familial relations into the Massachusetts Educator Evaluation Framework [30].\u00a0 These two skills are especially critical as efforts to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion take prominence and the importance of teachers’ relationships with their students\u2019 families increases after over a year of remote learning for many students.<\/span><\/p>\n Massachusetts\u2019 work to establish the best standards and the best assessments for students illustrates how it has been, and will continue to be, a leader in the rapidly evolving world of education.<\/span><\/p>\n WORKS CITED:<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/education-1101-spring-2022\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/544\/2022\/05\/Screen-Shot-2022-05-07-at-10.25.10-PM.png\")
<\/p>\nImage: Police on motorcycles escort a school bus through Boston at the high of the Boston Busing Riots, September 1976 [38].<\/strong><\/h5>\n
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<\/p>\nImage: Second-grade students and their teacher, Rachelle Milord, at Mozart Elementary School in Boston, June 2021 [39].<\/strong><\/h5>\n
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