Education Highlights

THE CONTEXT

KEY TRENDS AND FINDINGS

MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND INNOVATIONS 2002 - 2004

REMAINING CHALLENGES

COMPETITION

CONTEXT

Boston anchors a region containing 74 institutions of higher education with a combined annual enrollment of more than 260,000 students. About half — 35 public and private colleges and universities — are within the city limits.  Boston contains more institutions of higher education in its vicinity than any other city in the world, contributing to its highly skilled and educated workforce, high quality jobs, track record in federal research funding, innovative nonprofit sector, and steady stream of local start-ups. The state’s public higher education system, coordinated by the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education, incorporates 29 institutions, which includes 15 community colleges serving about 117,500 students, nine state colleges serving about 72,500 students, and five University of Massachusetts campuses, including one in Boston, serving about 73,000 students.  In addition, state-funded Adult Basic Education classes include English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), basic literacy, math skills, and high school equivalency/adult diploma programs. 

The Commonwealth’s 1993 Education Reform Act generated the rigorous Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) test to measure student achievement and encourage new public school options, including state-level Charter schools and city-level Pilot schools with flexibility from collective bargaining agreements.  In addition, legislation passed in 2004 creates a new Department of Early Education and Care to begin the process of expanding access to high quality early education to all Massachusetts preschoolers. 

The Boston Public Schools (BPS), with about 58,000 students in the 2004-2005 school year, runs seven early learning centers, 66 elementary schools, 11 elementary and middle schools, 18 middle schools, 1 middle and high school, 25 high schools, three “exam” high schools, six special education schools and two alternative programs for at-risk students.  These include 17 Pilot schools and two Horace Mann Charter Schools.  In addition, about 4,000 BPS students attend 21 state-chartered Charter schools in Boston, and 3,000 students attend suburban METCO schools.  The BPS strategy focuses on achieving higher standards and accountability bolstered by greater choice and innovation.

For the past decade, Boston has had the rare stability of one superintendent who has overseen two five-year school improvements plans with a commitment to system-wide reform and to eliminating racial and income achievement gaps.  Boston Public School partnerships include the 1982 Boston Compact between the BPS and Boston’s business community, as well organizations that facilitate school reform and leverage outside funding, including the Boston Plan for Excellence in the Public Schools, the Center for Collaborative Education, which supports learning among Pilot schools, Jobs for the Future, and the Massachusetts Charter School Association.

KEY TRENDS AND FINDINGS

Educational attainment is increasingly important to Greater Boston’s competitive, knowledge-based economy, and Boston has one of the highest educational attainments rates in the nation among large cities.  Higher education attainment rates in those  aged 25 and higher rose in Boston from 10% in 1970 to almost 36% in 2000, reflecting in part the retention of local college graduates. (see indicator 4.1.1). In addition, an increasing number of Boston Public School graduates seek additional educational opportunities, rising from 25% in 1960 to 36% in 1970. 68% of class of 2002 BPS graduates who responded to a Boston Private Industry Council survey reported that they attended either college or a training program in the year following graduation. (see indicator 4.2.2)

For the past decade, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has committed major public resources to funding K-12 Education Reform, more than doubling annual state spending from $1.3 billion in 1993 to $3.2 billion in 2002, creating a level foundation of funding in all communities.  However, with a few notable exceptions, educational attainment in Boston and the Commonwealth reflect family and community economic status.  Overcoming disparities of race and class within and across municipal school districts at all levels of education remains the single greatest challenge for educators, public officials, and civic leaders.  For example, the Boston Public Schools and other large urban school districts are educating high percentages of low-income and limited English proficiency children compared to statewide averages. The Great Schools Campaign, organized by Mass Insight Education, proposes a focus on turning around failing schools, promoting excellence in math and science education, and increasing the MCAS high school graduation requirement so that passing means proficiency.

Following a decade of education reform as well as stable leadership in the Boston Public Schools, Boston is considered by educational experts to be a leader among large urban school districts in making system-wide progress.  Boston contains a high number of innovative Pilot and Charter schools and is also at the forefront of large urban school districts, particularly in its citywide implementation of classroom-based professional development for teachers (known as “Collaborative Coaching & Learning” in Boston), and in the high school restructuring movement, which is creating small learning communities and new small high schools with specialized curricula across the city.

New technologies are reshaping the landscape for teaching and learning in Boston.  Boston became the first urban school district in the country to connect every school to the Internet in 1998, and the student-computer ratio has increased from 63:1 in 1993 to 6:1 in 2004.  In addition, 95% of BPS teachers have had 50 hours of technology training.  Distance learning is also expanding the reach of local educational resources: Boston University reports that its first fully online class graduated in 2004 with roughly 130 students.  MIT’s courses are available at no cost online.  New technologies stimulate innovation, facilitate access to data to guide educational decisions, and support interactive communication.

EARLY EDUCATION AND CARE

High-quality early education is critical for developing children’s social, emotional and cognitive skills and equalizing opportunities for school readiness, yet both access and quality in Massachusetts remain uneven. Research shows that children who participate in high- quality early education score higher in school-readiness tests, and have better social skills and fewer behavioral problems once they enter school. They are also 40% less likely to need special education or to be held back a grade.  In Metro Boston, according to the Massachusetts Department of Education’s Early Learning Services, there are only 20,509 program slots available for 41,160 children ages zero to five — a nearly 50% gap.  Average annual cost for early care and education as a percentage of family income was 29% for families with infants, 24% for those with toddlers and 22% for families with preschoolers in Metro Boston.  The Early Education for All Campaign is working to establish universal access to high quality early education for all three-, four-, and five-year-olds in the Commonwealth, comparable to programs offered by a number of states including New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Florida, Oklahoma and Georgia. (see indicator 4.4.1)

The Commonwealth is making great strides to ensure better opportunities and outcomes for all of the state’s young children.  In July 2004, the Massachusetts Legislature unanimously passed a law creating a new Department of Early Education and Care to administer the state’s early education and care system.  In December 2004, the Education for All Campaign filed "An Act Establishing Early Education for All" for the 2005-2006 session with bi-partisan support: 132 State Senators and Representatives, representing 66% of the Legislature, co-sponsored the bill, which lays out the essential elements of a universally accessible, high-quality early education program.  Fully funding universal access to high quality early education for all three- four- and five-year olds is projected to cost approximately $1 billion annually in Massachusetts. 

The Boston Public Schools has opened seven early learning centers and currently offers half-day pre-kindergarten to about 1,000 preschoolers.  Another 8,000 children attend preschool in community-based programs.  Mayor Thomas M. Menino is committed to increasing access to early learning for 4-year olds.  In 2004, the Boston School Committee authorized 21 more classrooms offering full-day care for an additional 450 4-year-olds (known as K1, or Kindergarten 1, classrooms).  In addition, Boston’s early care and educations centers are dedicated, through Associated Early Care and Education’s Boston EQUIP, to enhancing the quality of early education by improving instruction and facilities.

K – 12

Despite progress across a broad array of measures, on the key measure of third-graders reading at grade, both Boston and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts show room for improvement.   Reading at grade level in the third grade is an indicator of prior preparedness and a predictor of future academic success, according to educators.  In 2004, only 36% of Boston’s third-graders were reading at grade level, while statewide, only 63% of third-graders were proficient readers. This does not auger well for the future educational advancement of many young people or for a region and state in which the economy increasingly depends on highly educated workers. (see indicator 4.5.1)

Source: Boston Public Schools 2004 District Report Card.

Focus on Children II, the Boston Public Schools’ five-year school improvement plan, builds on the work of the previous five-year plan. Its goal is to continue raising student achievement by improving classroom teaching, with considerable emphasis on school-based professional development to strengthen the quality of instruction. From School Year 2002-2006, instruction will be organized around these Six Essentials for Whole School Improvement:

1. Use effective instructional practices and create a collaborative school climate to improve student learning;
2. Examine student work and data to drive instruction and professional development;
3. Invest in professional development to improve instruction;
4. Share leadership to sustain instructional improvement;
5. Focus resources to support instructional improvement and improved student learning; and
6. Partner with families and the community to support student learning.

Educational attainment is improving in Boston Public Schools in all subgroups, but disparities persist at every level.  Between 1998 and 2004, the percentage of children passing the grade 10 English language MCAS increased from 43% to 77%, and the percent passing the grade 10 Mathematics MCAS increased from 25% to 74%.  This includes improvements by subgroup, but disparities persist (see box).  In addition to tests in math and English, MCAS exams in science and US history are being proposed. (see indicator 4.5.2)

Immigration is changing the face of Boston’s schools and challenging teaching methods.  The Council of the Great City Schools reported in 2003 that between the 1998-1999 and 2000-2001 school years, English Language Learners in Boston schools increased by almost 4,000, or a 42% increase.  This compares to a 10% increase among the nation’s 100 largest public elementary and secondary school districts cited by to the National Center for Education Statistics.  The number of recent foreign immigrants to Boston increased by nearly 74,000 over the 1990s alone, according to the US Census, and 47% of Boston resident births in 2002 were to women born outside of the United States, with 24% born to women whose primary language was other than English, according to the Boston Public Health Commission.  In 2000, 46,000 Bostonians lacked English proficiency, while, according to a BPS study, 20% of Boston’s school children speak a language other than English at home.  The BPS reports that nearly 10,000 of its students are in programs for English language learners in the 2004-2005 school year.  Beginning in SY 2003-2004, English immersion superseded the Boston Public Schools’ bilingual policy, following the 2002 approval of a statewide referendum banning bilingual instruction.

Boston Public Schools enrollment is dropping, from 60,300 in school year 2003-2004 to 58,600 in school year 2004-2005.  This reflects a decline in families with children in Boston as well as a tendency for families with young children to move to the suburbs or to put their children in private, Charter or parochial schools after kindergarten or the early grades.
 
Standards-based K-12 reform affects students, teachers, and schools — for better and for worse.  State and federal accountability mandates have enriched many schools with a culture of high expectations and pressure for standardized test score achievement. However, educators and parents report that students suffer from the elimination of athletics, art and other engaging activities, including a decline in attention to individualized needs. A 2004 analysis by District 6 Boston City Councilor John M. Tobin found that 47 of the city’s 84 public elementary schools do not offer physical education programs, and only slightly more than half of Boston’s 33 high schools have gym classes.

Mandated qualification standards are creating new professional development and Master’s degree program requirements for teachers.  The Massachusetts Board of Higher Education reports a 27% increase in graduate enrollment overall between the fall of 1997 and the fall of 2002, stemming in part from “increased requirements for professional development courses and Master’s degree programs for teachers resulting from the Commonwealth’s Education Reform efforts.”  Public universities, state colleges, and community colleges in the state entered into system-wide transfer compacts for elementary and early childhood teacher education beginning in the fall of 2004, according to the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education.

Boston is considering legislation to raise the cap limiting the number of students who can attend Charter schools per district.  Boston hit a cap in 2003, despite a waiting list of 6,000 students, according to Boston Globe reports. Many Charter schools are making great headway in addressing the academic achievement gap, however some face the same performance challenges as their regular public school peers and have faced closure in recent years.

The Boston Public Schools reports that for school year 2004-2005, roughly 19% of its students are enrolled in special education programs, including 5,160 students with mild to moderate disabilities; 5,680 students with more severe disabilities who attend special BPS schools; 530 students with severe disabilities who attend private and residential schools; 390 students, ages three to four, in Early Childhood programs and about 550 students enrolled in non-BPS schools that receive some BPS services. The City of Boston reports that 10% of students are in “substantially separate special education programs,” a figure that experts cite is higher than in other schools systems.

OUT-OF AND AFTER-SCHOOL

Out-of-school and extended school day programs are reaching more students, providing opportunities to enhance learning and overcome educational inequalities. Boston’s After-School for All Partnership reported in 2003 that for the first time, a majority of Boston’s school-aged children — 48,000 in all — participated in after-school programming, a doubling of capacity and activity from five years earlier, according to a parent survey.

The After-School for All Partnership reports that after-school, before-school and summer programs promote youth development and cultural enrichment, while providing tangible academic benefits.  These benefits include improved literacy and math skills and the development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Many local schools are creating a “seamless day” which provides a full day of learning and enrichment activities.

A new partnership — Boston After School & Beyond — is the merger of Boston’s 2:00-6:00 Initiative and the After-School for All Partnership.  This new organization will continue to build Boston’s out-of and after-school sector, including a broad range of activities to promote children’s cognitive, physical, social and creative development.


PUBLIC HIGHER EDUCATION

Enrollments are growing at Massachusetts public higher education institutions, particularly at community colleges, while funding has declined over the past decade — in contrast to increases in other Leading Technology States.  State and community college enrollment grew by 12,075 between fiscal years 1998 and 2003, with more than 98% of total enrollment and all of undergraduate enrollment attributed to the rapidly growing community college segment, according to the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education.  However, Mass Insight’s Technology Road Map notes that between fiscal years 1994 and 2004, Massachusetts decreased its spending on public higher education by 5.3% compared to increases in other Leading Technology States, with California increasing funding by 92%, North Carolina by 50%, Pennsylvania by 28%, and New York by 22%.  State funding for higher education has declined by $275 million in real dollars, or 23%, since 2001, according to the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center.

Enrollments at both public and private higher education institutions in Massachusetts are falling behind national growth figures.  According to a 2004 report by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, public higher education institution enrollment increased by just 3.5% in the Bay State between 1991 and 2001, compared to a 8.2% increase nationwide. Private sector higher education enrollments in Massachusetts fell by .3% over that decade compared to a 21.2% increase nationwide.

ADULT EDUCATION

In its 2000 report, New Skills for a New Economy, MassInc found that one-third of the state’s workers lack the skills needed to compete in the 21st century economy.  About 667,000 have a high school degree but are lacking skills; 195,000 have severely limited English; and 280,000 lack a high school degree. Despite the need, the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center reports that funding for Adult Basic Education was cut by $5.1 million, or 15%, in inflation-adjusted terms between fiscal years 2001 and 2005.   In 2004, almost 19,000 people were on waiting lists for English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes, with at least 3,500 in Boston facing waits of six months to two years; and approximately 6,500 training slots in Adult Basic Education were needed as of 2004 to meet demand, according to the Massachusetts Department of Education. (see indicator 4.3.1)

MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND INNOVATION 2002 – 2004

Greater collaboration is taking place within the education sector at all levels and between schools and public and private sector players in Boston.  The Boston Public Schools (BPS) has a tradition of working with universities, foundations, businesses, cultural organizations and human service providers to bring needed services into the schools.  More than 100 businesses have contributed through the BPS’s Technology Initiative; a number of organizations are promoting elementary school literacy through ReadBoston; 28 colleges and universities are working as a consortium to provide funding and services through the Boston Higher Education Partnership; and over 60 cultural organizations and individual artists offer programs to 95% of Boston Public Schools, according to the City of Boston.  Colleges are increasingly collaborating through programs like Campus Compact and the Colleges of the Fenway initiative linking six Universities.

School Superintendent Thomas Payzant was awarded the 15th Annual Richard R. Green Award for Urban Excellence by the Council of Great City Schools, citing his unwavering focus on the district-wide central reform strategy of improving the quality of instruction to enable all students to achieve high standards of academic performance.  One BPS student won a related $10,000 scholarship as part of the award.  Nationally, Superintendent Payzant is noted as one of the longest-running superintendents of a large urban school district in recent memory.

UMass Boston opened a new campus center, the first major new building on its campus in over 20 years. 

An assessment of the city’s student assignment procedure was undertaken to review 30 years of busing and consider a return to a system of neighborhood schools, but the Boston School Committee heeded parents’ concerns and did not change the current system. Some 3,000 school-age children in Boston attend suburban schools through the METCO program.

Boston has broken ground over the last two years in addressing both teacher retention and diversity.  Two innovative district-run preparation programs for classroom teachers and school principals use the medical residency model of full-time, hands-on training in actual classrooms with mentor teachers and principals, in exchange for a commitment to teach in the Boston Public Schools for a minimum of three years.  Since its launch in 2003, the Boston Teacher Residency Program (BTR) has trained 52 future educators; with 45% of those trained being persons of color.  Three-quarters of Principal Fellows in the first two classes of the Boston School Leadership Institute (BSLI) are educators of color.  Graduates of both BTR & BSLI are already employed in Boston schools, and the Boston Teacher Residency will triple in size over the next three years. 

New legislation established a Department and Board of Early Education and Care, which lays the groundwork for universal access to voluntary, high-quality programs for preschool-aged children in the Commonwealth.  Chapter 205 of the Acts of 2004 calls for the Board to begin work on March 1, 2005 and the Department to be effective July 1, 2005.   

State legislation passed to bolster in-school support for children traumatized by violence. Chapter 194 of the Acts of 2004, which took effect July 1, 2004, establishes an alternative education grant program to help schools address the education and psycho-social needs of children with behavioral problems, particularly those suffering from exposure to violence.

Visit the Hub of Innovation's Education Section.

REMAINING CHALLENGES

PRE-K

Despite years of research documenting the impact of early brain development and early education on future academic success, as well as broad-based legislative and media support, legislation to create universal access to high quality early education for all three-, four-, and five-year olds faces many hurdles.  The Commonwealth of Massachusetts must decide whether to fund universal early education, as some competitor states have already decided to do. 

K- 12

There is a need for greater collaborative vision and goals for “Pre-K-16” educational excellence in order to break through resistance to reform and generate public support.  Education experts point to the need for a unified strategy for education that brings together the city, schools, and the nonprofit and philanthropic communities, with strengthened leadership and input from low-income communities.

About one in five high school students in Boston is dropping out, a disturbing reality for the prospects of young people without a high school diploma in a region and economy increasingly dependent on workers with a college education. In the school year ending in the spring of 2003, 8% of students dropped out in one year, while between 1998 and in 2002, almost 23% of starting 9th graders dropped out, according to BPS. These rates, while not out of line with other large urban school districts, are not included in final MCAS tallies.

Schools are being called upon to respond to broad social challenges.  Nearly half of all Boston high school students in the Boston Youth Survey of 2001 reported coming to school tired and without breakfast; less than half of all teenagers felt they handled stress well; and 25% reported gang activity as a serious problem in their schools.  The full-service school model, operating in a growing number of BPS schools and supported by the Boston Full-Service Schools Roundtable, offers an approach that includes crucial social support services available within schools and accessible to parents.

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) 

Teacher retention is in crisis. The Boston Plan for Excellence in the Public Schools found in an April 2004 survey that more than half of the 2002-2003 new Boston Public School hires expected to stay at their job between one and five years, and only 65% expected to stay more than five years.  A 2002 Boston Globe article reports growing teacher disinterest in advancing to the level of principal or superintendent, due to rising expectations of these positions, forcing some administrators pending retirement to stay in their positions.  Innovative programs are addressing the issue of older teachers, retirement, and their effect on the school system.

A strong state support system for education is lacking in Massachusetts.  A Rennie Center Policy Brief, published in the summer of 2004, cites Judge Botsford’s advisory opinion in the Hancock v. Driscoll case, asserting that the state must not only provide schools with additional financial resources but must improve thier capacity to design, fund and implement stronger support systems for low-performing schools and districts.

Collective bargaining agreements are a point of contention in the education system.  For example, pilot school status for the Thomas Gardner Elementary School in Allston was vetoed by the Boston Teachers Union, citing the School Department’s unwillingness to address working conditions, such as overtime and scheduling policies, during the contract negotiations.

An academic achievement gap is emerging between young men and women, with higher dropout and lower college attendance rates, particularly among young men of color.  In Boston’s public schools, young women represented 24 of the city’s 30 valedictorians in 2004.

A UMass Donahue Institute study found that Boston places a far greater proportion of special needs students (grades 4, 7, and 8) in separate classrooms than 33 other urban districts in the state.   Special education advocates have expressed concerns that the process of application for MCAS waivers is unfair to special education students, according to a July 2003 article in the Boston Globe.  At the same time, a growing number of schools are experimenting with inclusionary instructional models that integrate both special and regular education students in the classroom.  More professional development investment will be needed to help teachers succeed with this approach to instruction.

OUT OF SCHOOL TIME

Over the past four years, all state funding for after-school programming has been eliminated.  More than $9 million in state funding for after-school programs was cut in 2001 and not restored.  Federal funding for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant program in Massachusetts was cut by 22%.  Advocates are calling for the creation of an After-School and Out-of-School Time Commission to make recommendations about ways to better coordinate, expand and finance critical after-school programming.

Despite significant recent progress, the after-school sector faces the challenge of creating a truly systemic, comprehensive system to serve the needs of all school-age children with a wide variety of quality programming opportunities across a broad range of interests and ages.  Statewide, the unmet need includes:

• 73% of children in Massachusetts from families that have a single parent or both parents working; and
• 220,000 Massachusetts school children who take care of themselves most days after-school, according to a 2002 poll of parents by Massachusetts 2020 called No Time To Lose.

Despite significant expansion, children in Boston, particularly teenagers, lack sufficient out-of-school time opportunities. Research finds that 80% of children’s waking hours are spent outside of school.  While there are close to 45,000 teenagers in Boston, only 22% are engaged in out-of-school time programs, according to a 2004 report by the After-School for All Partnership and the Boston Foundation.

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 face multiple obstacles to educational advancement.  Many low-income single mothers with multiple responsibilities in Massachusetts 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, at 77,625 students in noncredit courses, which include 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 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, perhaps 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.

Massachusetts funding and support for its public higher education severely lags other states.  Massachusetts ranks 49th among states on FY05 tax appropriations for higher education per $1000 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. The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education’s report, called 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. The bill will be reintroduced in April 2005, according to the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition.

More than 50% of students in the Commonwealth’s wealthiest school districts and less than 10% of students in the lowest income districts would qualify for the state’s new John and Abigail Adams Scholarships, to be awarded to students who rank in the top 25 percent in 10th grade MCAS scores statewide, according to the Harvard Civil Rights Project.

COMPETITION

Other states are phasing in universal early education.  Georgia and Oklahoma already offer universal preschool to all four-year-olds. New York and West Virginia have been phasing in universal preschool access, New York since 1997, beginning with three- and four-year olds at high risk.  Florida is on the verge of offering universal access to preschool.

Enrollment of foreign students is falling in local universities and nationwide.  The UMass Boston campus has seen a dramatic decline in the number of international students, dropping by almost half in the three years since 2001, while graduate student enrollments fell by one-third.  Enrollment of foreign students in the United States dropped 2.4% between 2003 and 2004, with a drop twice as steep in Massachusetts during that time, according to the Open Doors 2004 report by the Institute of International Education.

Enrollment – 2004

District

State

Race/Ethnicity

African American

46.4 %

8.8 %

Asian

8.8 %

4.7 %

Hispanic

30.4 %

11.5 %

Native American

0.4 %

0.3 %

White

14.0 %

74.6 %

Gender

Male

51.7 %

51.5 %

Female

48.3 %

48.5 %

Selected Population Enrollment

Limited English Proficiency

19.0 %

5.0 %

Low-income

73.4 %

27.1 %

Special Education

19.5 %

15.6 %

Migrant

0.1 %

0.2 %

TOTAL COUNT

60,164

980,842