The Boston Foundation - Indicators Project

OVERVIEW

Metro Boston has one of the best-educated work forces in the country and the world. But competitor “citistates” are aggressively seeking to increase their share of workers, research funds, industries, and the region’s competitive edge in educational attainment levels can no longer be taken for granted. Today, with mounting state deficits and budget cuts, public education — the seed corn of Boston’s future prosperity — is at risk.

The economic boom of the 1990s in Boston and the region was fueled by research dollars and high-skilled workers, many of whom graduated from local institutions of higher learning.

The region’s public and private colleges and universities attract brilliant students and professors from around the nation and the world, who, in turn, attract research funding, start new companies and generate jobs. They also create fertile ground for new ideas, attract more high-skilled workers, foster a welcoming environment for ethnic diversity, and become a magnet for the “creative class,” all of which adds to Boston’s vitality and quality of life. Because of the beneficial multiplier effect of Metro Boston’s high concentration of students, other states have begun to compete for their own greater share. In the tight high-skilled labor market in the1990s— which forced many companies to recruit foreign professionals — Metro Boston lost young workers to other regions.

What this means, particularly in light of 9/11, is that the region cannot count as readily as it once did on a steady flow of graduates from local institutions of higher education. Nor can it rely on a large portion of the 40% of graduate students in the region who are here from foreign countries to stay on, or on visas for high-skilled professionals from other nations to supply new talent as needed.

The long-term health of Boston and the region depends — now more than ever — on the capacity of public institutions of education at all levels to nurture local talent to high standards of excellence in order to retain the region’s competitive advantage in educational attainment.

While some high-income families can and do send their children to private schools, most families in Boston and the region rely on public education to prepare their children to succeed as citizens and as workers. And academic success depends to a large extent on the quality of public education at all rungs of a ladder of educational opportunity. These rungs include:

prenatal care through age three — the most critical stage of brain development;
early childhood education;
elementary school;
middle school;
after-school and summer programs;
high school and vocational education;
workforce retraining and development, basic adult education, English as a Second or Other Language (ESOL) and continuing education;
higher education — from community colleges and undergraduate degrees to advanced graduate programs;
advanced professional training in fields such as medicine.

In recognition of the importance of public education to the social and economic goals of the Commonwealth — and the need to equalize education spending among rich and poor communities — the Massachusetts Legislature passed the Massachusetts’ Education Reform Act in 1993, setting the stage for a decade-long overhaul of the Commonwealth’s K-12 public education system. The Education Reform Act mandated a new standards-based curriculum with broad learning goals as well as greater accountability for teachers, students and schools, to be measured by a rigorous new test, the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS).

Reforms were supported by a dramatic increase in state funding, focused particularly on less wealthy school districts. Since then, Massachusetts has more than doubled its annual spending on education — from $1.3 billion in 1993 to $3.2 billion in 2002, creating a level foundation of funding in all communities.

The Reform Act also encouraged a greater degree of choice within the public school system, allowing for the chartering of up to 25 innovative “charter” schools, outside the purview of local school committees and collective bargaining agreements based on specific plans submitted for approval to the Massachusetts Board of Education. That number was later amended to 50, including 13 Horace Mann Schools that require support from the local teachers union and school committee and the hiring of certified teachers at prevailing wages. As of the fall of 2002, 46 charter schools had opened, of which 14 are in Boston — with three more approved to open in Boston in the fall of 2003.

As part of the contract agreement between the City of Boston, the Boston Public Schools and the Boston Teachers Union, another innovative option was created for the transition to a new form of more autonomous and flexible public school: the Pilot School. The Boston Public Schools currently include 13 Pilot Schools, with more on the way.

In January 2002, school reform in Massachusetts was joined by the reauthorization of the federal Elementary and Secondary Schools Act: “No Child Left Behind.” Offering more money to the states at the same time as it imposed stricter requirements and established penalties for poor performance, the new law was designed “to ensure that every child in the nation has the skills to succeed at grade level by 2014.”

It requires standardized testing, “highly qualified” teachers in every “high-poverty classroom” by 2002 and in all classrooms by 2005, tutoring for students who fall behind, and choice for parents wishing to transfer children out of “failing schools.”

Today, nearly a decade after the initiation of the 1993 reforms in Massachusetts, measurable gains are being posted in most areas. But local school districts now find themselves at a painful crossroads. Just as strict new state and federal mandates and penalties for “nonperformance” are being implemented, budget cuts are required in response to reduced state funding. Instead of supporting greater investment in areas identified as needing improvement — particularly with regard to continuing educational disparities by income and race — essential resources are evaporating. There is now a question whether resources are adequate or whether the requirements introduced under the 2002 federal law constitute an “unfunded mandate.”

Education unlocks the potential of individuals to express themselves, to become informed neighbors and voters, to advance economically and to adopt healthy behaviors. A great deal hangs in the balance as the level of investment in public education is debated at the federal and state levels, and in cities and towns across the region.

For the first time, Massachusetts’ seniors are required to pass the 10th grade English and Math MCAS exams in order to receive a high school diploma. As of December 2002, almost 20% of Massachusetts’ seniors had not passed the test after three attempts, including nearly 50% of Latino students and 44% of black students in the Commonwealth, including more than 40% of Boston’s seniors. [We need to get more recent statistics ]The MCAS, administered at critical points in elementary, middle and high school education, is one of the most visible — and controversial — aspects of standards-based education in Massachusetts. Supporters stress its role in raising expectations for and the visibility of students who might otherwise be left behind; critics question the fairness and accuracy of a test that largely tracks economic advantage and for which all students have not had equal access to necessary coursework and support.

In 2002, the Massachusetts Board of Education voted to allow school districts to give seniors who fulfill all graduation requirements except for passage of the MCAS exam a Certificate of Attainment in lieu of a high school diploma. The Massachusetts Board of Higher Education is also working with Massachusetts’ 15 community colleges to offer a federally approved Ability to Benefit test to allow these students to apply for community college admission and federal financial aid. Students who do not pass the ATB test will be encouraged to take MCAS remediation transitional programs or other Adult Basic Education/GED preparation courses.

A steep drop in state tax revenues — exacerbated by a series of 42 tax cuts totaling $4 billion during the 1990s — led to cuts in Local Aid to cities and towns in the 2002/2003 school year. Most of that local aid goes to support local school systems. It is not at all clear whether high-quality programs can be made available at each rung in the ladder of educational achievement in Massachusetts.

In November 2002, voters passed a ballot initiative eliminating bilingual education in the state’s public schools. Massachusetts’ schools will now rely on English immersion to facilitate learning for students with no or limited English.

Parent involvement in the BPS got a major boost on the fall of 2002, with a federal grant of $2.8 million. The Boston Public Schools and the Home for Little Wanderers received the grant in support of the newly organized Family and Community Engagement Division of the BPS. The program is designed to boost school readiness and parent engagement. A new Deputy Superintendent was appointed to focus specifically on increasing the depth and breadth of parent involvement — representing a solid BPS commitment and a positive response to organizing efforts by the Boston Parents Organizing Network and others.

The Boston Public Schools completed the five-year Focus on Children improvement plan and initiated Phase II — 2002 through 2006 — with clear gains in a number of areas:

Boston’s system now contains much more choice, with 13 Pilot Schools (five K-8, two middle, and 6 high schools, including the Boston Arts Academy and Boston Tech Academy); two Horace Mann charter high schools; 19 additional charter schools; and a number of alternative special-focus programs;
new computers, reducing the computer-to-student ratio in Boston from 1:63 students in 1996 to 1:5 students in 2002;
initial steps to reorganize Boston’s large high schools as smaller learning communities, providing for more direct adult/student contact;
five new elementary schools in Dorchester, Mattapan and Roxbury, which together contain more than half of all Boston Public School students, are being built or planned;
intensive support in reading and math for students at risk of failing the MCAS, with summer school help in reading and math;
advanced placement classes for students to prepare for college-level courses. In 2001, every high school offered at least three AP courses in math, science and the humanities.

As a result of cuts in state Local Aid due to declining tax revenues, Massachusetts’ cities and towns are being forced to cut school budgets. The Boston Public Schools faced an almost 10% or $65 million cut for the 2002/2003 school year, and may face additional cuts in the spring of 2003 and the 2003/2004 school year.

Childhood poverty rates changed little in Boston over between 1990 and 2000, despite the boom, and the effects of poverty on children are deepening in the current downturn. About 70% of Boston’s schoolchildren qualified for free- or reduced-price lunches, a measure of poverty, throughout the 1990s. About 30% of Boston’s school-aged children were living in poverty in both 1990 and 2000, according to the US Census, which uses the federal poverty standard and does not take into consideration Boston’s high cost of living. Boston ranked 13th among the nation’s 100 largest school districts in the percentage of children in poverty — up from 29th in 1995 — as other cities made greater gains in reducing childhood poverty. Teachers report seeing negative effects of the downturn on children in the classroom, such as increasing rates of hunger and family stress.

Racial disparities in educational outcomes at all grades persist as one of Boston’s most important educational challenges. From school readiness to third grade reading skills to the MCAS test results in the final year of school, racial disparities represent a constant reminder of the urgency of effective system wide improvement. About 86% of the children enrolled in Boston’s public schools are of color, and many are also from newcomer immigrant families.

In Boston, disparities in children’s educational achievement generally coincide with socioeconomic disparities as well. Boston’s child-intensive neighborhoods have among the lowest educational attainment levels among adults and comparatively low household incomes — creating hurdles to educational advancement.

Dropout rates are particularly high among African American and Latino high school students, and are increasing in the middle grades. The number of students leaving school has been on the upswing for the past five years. Because middle grade dropouts are not accounted for in “official” city or state rates, dropouts throughout the system may be undercounted. This means that some students at risk for failing the MCAS may have dropped out before taking it, skewing official results.

Many Boston teachers are reaching retirement and new teachers and principals are needed, creating a challenge and an opportunity. While Boston will undoubtedly lose many of its dedicated master teachers, it has a once-in-a-century opportunity to recruit and mentor the next generation of inspiring, committed teachers. Only about one quarter of secondary teachers in Massachusetts are not currently certified in their subject.

Barriers prevent many low-income parents from being further involved in their children’s education —from lack of transportation and child-care, language and information barriers, to the demands of multiple jobs.

Boston and Massachusetts need more high- quality early childhood education programs. There are about 1.7 children under the age of 5 for every licensed child-care slot in Boston. In 2001, 21,283 children were on waiting lists for childcare subsidies in Massachusetts.

More than 14,000 Massachusetts residents are on waiting lists for English as a Second or Other Language (ESOL), while about 15,000 people in the state are enrolled. However, more than 800,000 adults in the Commonwealth cannot read beyond the fifth grade level and need to upgrade their skills in order to qualify for most jobs currently available.

The Bay State has the largest concentration of biotech companies in the world, yet its students continue to under-perform in math and science. Sustained investment is needed to develop the math, science and critical thinking skills of the Commonwealth’s future citizenry and workforce.

INNOVATION

Boston’s 13 pilot public schools and two Horace Mann Schools are hotbeds of innovation. Initiated in 1994 as part of the Boston Teachers Union Contract and as the “research and development” arm of BPS, pilot schools are autonomous and flexible, with the ability to create unique learning environment with more independence from central controls and regulations. Boston’s 13 pilot and two Horace Mann schools are coordinated as a “learning community” by the Center for Collaborative Education. In early 2003, The Boston Foundation selected 13 schools in the Boston Public School system to receive planning grants of up to $15,000 apiece to explore conversion to pilot school status — which for existing schools requires a vote of unionized school staff.

Boston is home to a groundbreaking collaboration among its interpretive science museums — the Museum Institute for Teaching Science (MITS) — designed to advance science teaching in grades K-8. The Boston Children’s Museum (the lead institution) along with the New England Aquarium, Zoo New England, and the MIT Museum offer professional development training to teachers, principals, curriculum developers and teachers’ aides in participatory, inquiry-based science education. Educators from participating museums provide updates about new developments in each field and hands-on instruction in math, science, technology and engineering. Its summer institutes qualify for professional development points and graduate credits.

Boston Partners in Education deploys 2,100 volunteers in more than 100 K-12 BPS schools. Founded in 1966, it builds sustainable partnerships between students and schools and a local business, a university or community group. More than 40% of its volunteers are corporate employees; 28% are students; 12% are attorneys; 10% are retirees; and 10% are from community institutions. To meet growing requests from schools, it seeks to double its volunteer base in 2003/2004.

The Early Education for All Campaign’s goal is to make high quality early childhood education available to all Massachusetts children ages three to five. Coordinated by Strategies for Children, Inc., the campaign is built on research documenting the critical importance of early education to later academic success — and the fact that about 70% of Massachusetts children 0-5 and 80% of those 0-3 live in families where all parents are employed.

Massachusetts may be losing ground to competitor Leading Technology States in public higher education. According to the Massachusetts Board of Education, the Commonwealth’s spending on public higher education increased by 13% between 1998 and 2002 compared to an increase of 70% in Minnesota, 127% in Texas and 24% in New York. With Colorado, Connecticut and New Jersey, these are the “Leading Technology States” — the Bay State’s main competitors for knowledge workers and jobs, and they are investing in new centers of excellence to attract students and research funds.

In the Bay State, more residents attend public institutions of higher education than private colleges and universities, which tend to attract out-of-state students — most of whom leave after graduation. Public tuitions in Massachusetts and New England are generally high compared to most in the Leading Technology States — creating obstacles for qualified Bay State students of low and moderate income as well as incentives to relocate. The Bay State granted almost 14% fewer associate degrees, nearly 11% fewer doctoral degrees, and 2.2% fewer first-professional degrees in 2000 than in 1998 — a step in the wrong direction.

Boston Public Schools
The website of the Boston public school system. Provides general facts and figures on the BPS, BPS-related news clips and press releases, and an html version of the Connections newsletter.

Massachusetts Department of Education
The state’s K-12 public education agency. Website provides html statistical reports, news and press releases, educatior information and information on events, programs, and initiatives.

Massachusetts Education Benchmarks
Designed to give citizens the information they need to understand the progress of public education reform in Massachusetts, with information about local schools and the performance of different school systems and education reform over time. There are also links, a FAQ section, and discussion forums.

Boston Partners in Education
Builds corporate, university, and school volunteer partnership opportunities. Website provides news clips and program information.

ReadBoston A partnership of the Boston Redevelopment Authority and Boston Public Schools. Website provides information on programs.

MassINC — Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth
MassINC is a nonpartisan think tank and advocacy group to promote the growth and vitality of the state’s middle class. Website provides html links to articles from their quarterly Commonwealth magazine, pdf versions of their research publications (free registration required), and information on initiatives, forums and events.

National Center for Education Statistics
The primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data that are related to education in the US and other nations. Website provides searchable statistics database, information on schools and colleges, a publications catalog, and information on programs.


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