State and National Laws Improved Education System
By Madison Rosbach
The education system in Massachusetts has become more productive over the past 25 years, with higher graduation rates and math proficiency because of national laws and the state’s innovative efforts, education officials say.
In 1985, 74 percent of Massachusetts high school students graduated, according to a study by the University of North Carolina. Last year, 83 percent of all high school students graduated, according to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
“There’s been five straight years of progress in terms of students graduating,” said JC Considine, director of Board and Media Relations, at DESE.
Part of this could be attributed to the Education Reform Act of 1993, which was the result of McDuffy v. Robertson, a 1978 lawsuit calling for education equality in Massachusetts.
The act also demanded that a test for all Massachusetts public school students be created that would give an idea of student, school, and district performance in accordance with the state curriculum standards.
The Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) was created to fulfill these requirements, according to the DESE.
“The largest increase has been the profound amount of standardized testing,” said Richard Stutman, president of the Boston Teachers’ Union
For schools, if their students don’t do well on MCAS, the Department of Education intervenes.
For students, they must pass tenth grade MCAS tests for English and math, and one of four science and technology/engineering tests available to them to graduate from high school.
“[It] set up a penalty system for those states that participate,” Stutman said of the Education Reform Act.
In 1998, during the first administered MCAS exam, 34 percent of fourth grade students were proficient or higher in math, and 31 percent of eighth grade students were scored the same way.
In 2011, the percentage of students who scored proficient or higher was 66 percent of third graders, 47 percent of fourth graders, 59 percent of fifth graders graders, 58 percent of sixth graders, 51 percent of seventh graders, 52 percent of eighth graders, and 77 percent of tenth graders, according to the DESE and the Kids Count Data Center.
“Teachers and students are becoming more used to the test” said Considine.
MCAS scores are used to improve curriculum and align it with state standards, measure a student’s progress, identify struggling students, decide how to improve overall student performance, and measure Massachusetts progress towards the goal of the federal No Child Left Behind Law (NCLB), to reach 100 percent proficiency in reading and math by 2014.
Signed in 2002, the law was intended to help disadvantaged students and create standard-driven learning.
“Some of the students we have the greatest concerns about are English Language Learners, kids who didn’t grow up with English,” said Considine.
There have always been large proficiency gaps between white students and minority students. Also at a disadvantage are disabled students, low income students, and English Language Learners.
“It’s an attempt to kind of measure people, based on the test scores kids get,” said Stutman. “Which again, many people aren’t happy about.”
The Obama administration has begun offering flexibility under the No Child Left Behind Act to some states to create a more successful program, because they believe NCLB’s goal is unrealistic. On Nov. 14, 2011, Massachusetts requested flexibility, according to the US Department of Education.
It was granted flexibility status on Feb. 9, 2012, becoming one of the first 10 states. Currently, 19 states have accomplished flexibility status in all.
Massachusetts is now aiming to reduce proficiency gaps by half, according to DESE.
“It’s not that we’re backing off from high standards, we still believe in high standards, it’s just that this is a more realistic goal,” said Considine.