In the magical land of Massachusetts, is there a wizard behind the curtain granting good grades to obedient students? Not quite.
Test taking is a student’s natural enemy, and the Massachusetts education system equips their students with the tools and strategies they need to combat it and perform as one of the best school systems in the country.
The state enrolls almost a million students in public school systems, and has a little over 1,800 different public institutions from Pre-kindergarten to a student’s senior year in high school. Massachusetts students consistently score above average on the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
With improved results coming from increased funding from state money and taxes, new academic and learning standards were set to further enhance students learning opportunities. With new facilities and materials, both students and teachers were more eager to attend and grow. Teachers were also attracted to poorer districts with higher incentives of pay in order to keep good teachers and give them better training to improve classroom curriculum.
In order to continue to perform as one of the best education systems not only nationally but globally, lawmakers in 1993 began the journey to make sure students from all backgrounds were set up to excel. The total goal is to boost performance in all parts of the state.
Based on state testing, many of the more affluent students out perform their poverty stricken peers. This gap between the better performing students and their classmates is called the Achievement Gap, and it is at the forefront of issues that Massachusetts politicians and school boards hope to combat.
How to Minimize the Gap
Teachers are trained to help students succeed not only academically, but socially and mentally as well. Schools are being designed to make students feel at home and safe, another factor that could lead to future success.
Jen Whitman is a fifth grade teacher at Stoneham Central Middle School in Stoneham, Massachusetts. As a lifelong Massachusetts resident, Whitman attended school in Lexington, Massachusetts and after graduating, went on to study at Boston University and pursue her graduate degree at Wheelock College.
“One of the poorer parts of the state is the city of Boston, which also has the most students out of any district,” Whitman said. “Boston pays teachers as well if not better than the wealthier towns to encourage teachers to want to teach in environments with fewer accommodations.”
In December of 2015 Obama passed the Every Student Succeeds Act, replacing George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act.
One of the biggest changes from this law is that the evaluations the teachers undergo will be based less on federally mandated tests. With the federal government staking a step back from regulating Massachusetts education, a new set of criteria for teachers to be evaluated on has been created, as well as taking into consideration student test scores.
While the amount of state mandated testing will not change, schools can decide how to use the data and information. They are given more leeway to step in to assist the student groups, teachers or specific students that may be struggling before the federal government intervenes.
If a school or specific group falls too far below the state standards consistently, the town and school system can be taken over by the state.
An example can be found with the town of Lawrence, Massachusetts, where the district consistently ranked in the bottom one percent for math and English test scores. As the first school system to be taken over by the receivership law passed by the State Legislature in 2010, those receiving control of the schools were granted power and responsibility. Changes the receivers can make are the ability to extend the school day or even require all staff to reapply for their positions.
The concept of structural reform for failing school districts allows those in power to minimize the opportunity gaps between poorer and wealthier districts.
Teachers and district heads believe total equality is the best way to minimize gaps in education between social groups in the state. Rather than a primary focus on academics, schools have shifted their focus to ensuring students are more engaged in school by letting them learn about themselves, as well as having access to learning facilities.
Higher Education is the End Goal
Whitman recounted how, the week before, her middle school had “College Day” where teachers were encouraged to wear something with their Alma Mater or past college on it to get the idea in students minds.
“I work in a town where about 50 percent of the parents have attended college and it’s something the district heavily stresses,” Whitman said. That should be their natural go to after high school and that’s what they should be aiming for.”
According to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 80.6 percent of the 2012 high school graduates planned to attend an institute of higher education.
It is the dedication of a amalgamation of groups: parents, students, teachers, school boards, state legislators, that keeps Massachusetts as a whole one of the best education systems in the country.