FYI from BSF, 2.2.24
A Harvard/Stanford study and a NY Times headline is publicizing what many educators and policymakers already knew: there is a long way to go on academic recovery.
You see it across all states.
Massachusetts - you see us at the top - received a special mention as the standard bearer of another clear trend: wealthier students are improving faster academically. To be fair, you see this dynamic everywhere, but the unique aspects of the Commonwealth - income inequality, high levels of educational attainment, and many, small, exclusive school districts - provide a certain accelerant.
These gaps by income are often framed by comparing “wealthy” school districts versus districts with more high needs students.
These communities often border each other, as is the case Boston and Newton, a school district you just may have noticed in the news a bit more recently.
In 2018, thousands of children in Boston and Newton started 4th grade, only to have their education upended 18 months later, as reflected in the skipped 2020 MCAS and declines in 2021.
But by last spring, those children in Newton - now 8th graders - had recovered academically. A greater percentage of that cohort of students was meeting expectations, while a smaller percentage was posted in Boston.
But comparing school districts only tells part of this story. What does it look like when you look at performance by income within districts?
In Boston, you see the same story. Our higher income students have surpassed their pre-pandemic academic performance, and low income students - the vast majority of the district - have not.
Curiously, this is not what one sees within Newton.
Although gaps remain, students of all socioeconomic backgrounds are performing above pre-pandemic levels.
A lot of possible explanations come to mind. Sample size; Newton reported 1,575 low income students in the fall of 2023, Boston reported 31,928. Money; Newton spends ~$4,000 more per student than the average Massachusetts school district. Focus; Newton’s reporting indicates an emphasis on low income students with federal stimulus dollars. Efficacy of staff. Etc.
All theoretically possible, with studies that could support or oppose these claims.
But there is one objective thing we do know low income students do more in Newton than most school districts in Massachusetts.
They go to school.
Prior, through, and post pandemic Newton’s low income students post higher attendance rates.
And lower chronically absentee rates.
A report released this week indicates the attendance crisis in American schools could extend at least six more years.
Time is one of schools' greatest resources and, now, one of their greatest challenges.
notes in the margin
We couldn't link all the stories on the Newton teacher strike if we tried. That left almost no room for other Boston education news this week.
The math wars resurface under new names.
Fiscal cliffs apply in both government and philanthropy: Chicago’s preK expansion may not be sustainable without federal dollars and a big Mackenzie Scott grant is now plugging a budget gap in Cleveland.
Mayoral control is up for debate in New York again.