PRE-K
Despite years of research documenting the impact of early education on future academic achievements and the success of the Early Education for All Campaign in garnering near-unanimous support for universal early education for all three, four, and five-year olds in the Commonwealth, actual appropriations have lagged due to state budget constraints and fierce competition for resources.
Too many of Boston's children arrive in kindergarten and first grade unprepared, and third-grade reading proficiency scores have remained more or less stagnant since 1999 despite a commitment by Mayor Thomas M. Menino to increase the number of preschool slots.
K-12
The single greatest challenge for educators, public officials, and civic leaders remains overcoming disparities of race and class within and across municipal school districts at all levels of education so that all children are academically proficient. The Boston Public Schools and other large urban school districts educate higher percentages of low-income and limited English proficiency children than suburban districts across the state. The Great Schools Campaign, organized byMass Insight Education, focuseson transforming failing schools, promoting excellence in math and science education, and increasing the MCAS school graduation requirements so that passing means proficiency.
Not enough students are graduating in four years in Boston or Massachusetts. A growing availability of student data revealed that in 2006, only slightly more than 59% of students who entered Boston public high schools as members of the Class of 2006 graduated “on time”—within four years. The Department of Education analyzed outcomes for more than 4,750 students who were originally members of the Class of 2006, including those who entered the district later than their freshman year.
Boston’s graduation rate is lower than the statewide average four-year graduation rate of 80%, and lower than other urban districts in Massachusetts, where the average rate was 62%. Given that overage students are at greater risk of giving up and dropping out, addressing the needs of overage students remains an outstanding challenge. In 2004, The Boston School Committee moved to address this issue, by creating a ninth grade academy at Boston Day and Evening Academy. This program for overage students targets those entering ninth grade in need of academic support in a setting outside of a traditional high school and provides students with targeted assistance and resources. However, much more must to be done to address this issue, creating an area of opportunity for Boston.
Dropout rates remain steady in Boston. In the 2004-2005 school year, almost 8% of students dropped out, according to the Massachusetts Department of Education. While not out of line with the dropout rates in other large urban districts, that translates into 1,400 students leaving school every year without a diploma.
Schools are not set up to meet the needs of the “whole child.” In late 2006, the National Center for Education and the Economy released a report: Tough Choices or Tough Times that issued a warning to communities across this country: either reinvent schooling, and better prepare students for the 21st century, or face a future of limited opportunity for the nation’s young people. The report calls for a radical rethinking of the structure and content of schooling, and calls for schools to strengthen students’ math and science content knowledge, as well as creativity and thinking skills. This bold vision requires greater collaboration across sectors to create the public will that will be necessary to rethink and reorganize public schools in Massachusetts and in other states.
Students report less risky behavior, but may not be as healthy. According to the 2005 Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Survey, the Commonwealth has made progress in reducing risky adolescent behavior. Many measures—including substance abuse, violence, and suicide, have steadily decreased over the last 10 years. However, key measures, such as physical activity and nutrition, have not improved. The 2005 survey revealed that an increasing number of youth in this state are overweight or at risk of being overweight. While this mirrors national trends, it is of special concern given the health risks associated with obesity.
Schools alone can not raise student achievement. In 2005 The Boston Public Schools selected 17 schools as pilot sites for new Family and Community Outreach Coordinator positions to help build their capacity to engage families and the community in meaningful ways. The School Department and School Committee worked with parent and community organizations such as the Boston Parent Organizing Network and Massachusetts Advocates for Children to develop these positions, which are designed to assist schools in engaging families and the community. The number of Family and Community Outreach Coordinator positions is projected to be increased to 31 positions in 2007.
Working parents face pressures that impede their involvement in children’s education. Parents report that the challenges of multiple jobs, lengthy commutes, language deficiencies, family stresses and poverty prevent full participation in their children’s learning experiences and their own educational advancement, according to data referenced by the Boston Centers for Youth and Families in 2003. Initiatives like the Family and Community Engagement Task Force at the BPS and schools like the Boston Arts Academy, profiled in 2004 by the Center for Collaborative Learning, are working on strategies to include parents in their children’s learning (See Indicator 4.7.1).
Much progress has been made in getting students over the MCAS hurdle but too many students are graduating unprepared for success at a two- or four-year college. Only 40% of Boston’s tenth graders passed MCAS on their first try in 2001, but in 2006, 74% passed both the English and math portions of MCAS after just two attempts, creating a false sense of “readiness” among juniors and seniors who actually are not ready for college. Since 2005, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has been focused on this issue, creating a web site and ad campaign and fostering close partnerships among the Department of Education, the Board of Higher Education, and local school districts. In June 2007 the Board of Education will vote on whether to create MassCore—a recommended college preparatory curriculum that will encourage students to continue to take challenging courses—including Algebra II—in their junior and senior years of high school.
More Boston graduates are enrolling in college than ever before—70% of the Class of 2005 were enrolled in an institutions of higher education, but according to a study by the Boston Higher Education Partnership, the rates at which students persist and graduate from college have failed to improve. A 2007 analysis of first-year college transcripts for Boston graduates revealed that more than one-third were enrolled in at least one developmental English course and one-half were enrolled in a developmental math course. Of those, nearly 40% withdrew from the developmental math course. The picture is even worse for students at community colleges: during their first year, Boston graduates enrolled in community colleges earned only 70% of all credits attempted.
A Growing Awareness that Proficiency Takes Time: It’s no secret that more time spent on a task can produce higher student achievement. While Pilot Schools and Charter schools in Boston have long offered extended day options—either through a longer school day or through after-school enrichment activities—state level policymakers and stakeholder groups have tried to implement expanded day programs at 11 schools across the state. In Boston, the Umana Barnes, the Timilty, and the Edwards Middle Schools participated in the first round of funding. State policymakers expect continued funding for the coming fiscal year, which will allow additional schools to lengthen their day by some 30%. An evaluation by Abt Associates will indicate whether the extra time is being used wisely. In the mean time, the legislature has included funding to expand the pilot program in the FY08 budget.
OUT-OF-SCHOOL AND AFTER-SCHOOL TIME
Human Resources are a primary challenge. Out-of-School Time programs suffer from high turnover among youth development staff (30 months is the average for all positions). And as more programs begin to serve older youth, professional development staffing in these programs is needed.
Boston has seen tremendous progress in making out-of-school time programs accessible to large numbers of students—more than half of Boston’s children, ages 6-14, attend after-school programs—but barriers to participation persist. Een greater collaboration among providers is needed to ensure that every available spot in these programs is taken and that more and more young people are served.
The impact of the state’s expanded-learning pilot is unknown. The ways in which schools use a longer day, and what that means for out-of-school time programs remains a question, with many fearing that a longer school day will negatively impact out-of-school time enrichment and programming.
Funding continues to be a challenge. State and federal funding for this sector has steadily declined as demand increases. Philanthropy has made a commitment to the increasingly competitive out-of-school sector, but cannot sustain long-term support. New public policies and new solutions to funding challenges are needed.
Girls lag in opportunities for in- and out-of-school physical activities. A February 2004 Harvard study reports that girls consistently lag behind boys in sports participation in Boston, with even fewer black and Latino girls taking part statewide than their white counterparts.
ADULT EDUCATION
Single parents in the state face multiple obstacles to educational advancement. Many low-income single mothers with multiple responsibilities find their time too limited for workforce training. High costs for education present barriers to adult learners without access to financial aid, reports the The Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy at UMass Boston.
Enrollment in workforce development courses at the state’s community colleges were at an eight-year high in fiscal year 2004, with 77,625 students in noncredit courses, including Adult Basic Education and English for Speakers of Other Languages. Yet community college budgets have declined. Statewide, the combined waiting list in the Commonwealth for Adult Basic Education and ESOL classes climbed to almost 25,000 in 2004.
HIGHER EDUCATION
While Greater Boston has some of the finest private institutions of higher education in the world, many students are from elsewhere and plan to return to their homes or to explore other cities. A survey by the Boston Consulting Group for the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and the Boston Foundation found that more than 50% of local college graduates remain in the region for a year or two following graduation.
Massachusetts’ public higher education system is critically important for workforce training and retention; however, in part because of an over reliance on the region’s private universities as a source of skilled talent, funding for Massachusetts public higher education system is among the lowest in the nation. As many as 93% of state college graduates and up to 95% of community college graduates are either employed in Massachusetts or continue their education one year after graduation, yet the quality of the state system is eroding, with funding cuts and the departure of tenured faculty and an increased reliance on adjunct faculty.
Colleges and universities are beginning to perceive increased accountability for student outcomes but there is a lack of good data about the cost and quality of education at institutions of higher education across the country, and in Massachusetts. In place of that data, colleges are being held increasingly accountable for graduation rates, a statistic that many colleges feel is unreliable and incomplete measure. There is incomplete data on “what works”—or the effectiveness of existing programs and strategies designed to help students succeed. More data is needed to develop a reform strategy that will help to improve access, affordability, and success.
Massachusetts funding and support for public higher education severely lags other states. Massachusetts ranks 49th among states on FY05 tax appropriations for higher education per $1,000 of personal income, according to Grapevine data compiled by the Center for the Study of Education Policy at Illinois State University. In addition, Massachusetts is 47th for appropriations per capita, and last among Leading Technology States. Per capita appropriations for public higher education were $122 in fiscal year 2004.
High costs of higher education are an obstacle in Massachusetts. Among young adults (ages 18-24), the gap in college participation between whites and non-whites is substantial. In addition, young adults from high-income families are about twice as likely as those from low-income families to attend college. The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education’s report, titled Measuring Up 2004, grades Massachusetts ‘F’ for affordability. It cites net costs equivalent to more than one-third of family income for low- and middle-income students to attend community colleges.
Despite Massachusetts’ reliance on newcomer immigrants as the primary source of labor force growth, immigrants are not currently entitled to in-state tuition rates. The Dream Act bill would allow immigrant students to pay resident tuition rates at state universities regardless of their immigrant status, provided they have attended a Massachusetts high school for three years and are willing to sign an affidavit assuring that they will apply for legal status when eligible.