Mass. closes education gap as other states struggle

Melissa Trujillo

BOSTON — Mixed with lessons on “The Crucible” and the geometry of triangles, the sophomores at the largely minority Boston Community Leadership Academy get daily reminders of the importance of the high-stakes standardized test each face in the spring.

It’s there in the bingo games that reinforce math skills, the tutoring after school, the quick asides from teachers and the dozens of practice exams.

So far the emphasis has paid off, with more than 90 percent of the academy’s 10th graders passing the math and English portions of the MCAS last spring on their first try.

Minority sophomores statewide have shown steady improvement over the past five years, making Massachusetts a leader in addressing one of education’s most stubborn and urgent problems: the achievement gap between white students and minority students on standardized tests.

Education experts point to Massachusetts’ high school test scores as proof that its history of comprehensive reform, concentrated funding and persistence has begun to pay off.

“We’ve got a long, long way to go, but I think so far, so good,” Education Commissioner David Driscoll said.

Closing the gap between the performance of white and minority students has become increasingly urgent as states try to comply with the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law, which set a 2014 deadline for all students to be proficient in math and science at their grade level. States also were required to report progress for various subgroups of students, including by race, income level and disabilities.

After NCLB became law, states scrambled to comply with new tests and standards, said Jack Jennings, president and chief executive officer of the Center on Education Policy, a Washington, D.C., group that advocates for public education. Some states chose to reduce standards to make it easier for students to meet them (NCLB allows states to decide what “proficient” means).

“A larger percentage of states are just trying to deal with the demands of No Child Left Behind,” Jennings said.

Massachusetts, already several years into its own reform plan, did neither.

When the state Legislature passed the Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993, it created the MCAS testing system, established the 10th grade exam as a graduation requirement and demanded the creation of high standards for teachers and students.

In exchange, the Legislature promised more funding, pumping more than $19 billion in additional money over the past decade-plus into education.

“Massachusetts shows that you can succeed if you have a thoughtful approach and sufficient funding and stick with it over the years,” Jennings said.

The MCAS became a graduation requirement beginning with the class of 2003. Students who score a 220 or higher out of 280 pass, though aren’t considered proficient in the subject.

Between 2001 and 2006, the percentage of black students passing the test jumped from 37 percent to 68 percent and the percentage of passing Hispanic students increased from 29 percent to 61 percent. White students also showed improvement, increasing their passing rate to 89 percent.

But because of the vast improvement by minority students, the difference in passing rates between blacks and whites decreased by 19 percentage points since 2001, and 20 percentage points between Hispanics and whites.

Last year, 47 percent of black students scored at proficient or above in English and 40 percent hit the mark in math, compared with 37 percent in English in 2005 and 29 percent in math. Hispanic students also showed gains.

“Even though we’re pretty pleased that we’re closing the achievement gap there [in passing], it’s far more important to me that we’re closing the achievement gap in proficient,” Driscoll said.

But other problems persist. Test scores have stagnated for students in lower grades, and passing rates for students with disabilities or with limited English skills remain below the average.

Gary Orfield, director of the Civil Rights Project and a professor at Harvard University, said state leaders are failing to address the students who drop out or are held back before the 10th grade.

A 2004 study by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education found that 76 percent of Massachusetts freshmen graduate four years later, while 29 percent eventually earn a college degree. The state plans to release its own graduation rate later this year.

“Part of what we should be thinking about is whether they graduate their students, and whether their students go on to college and take the right courses,” Orfield said.

Driscoll doesn’t disagree that more must be done — especially to prepare students for college.

In October, the Board of Education voted to raise requirements to pass the MCAS. Under the plan, which begins with the class of 2010, students scoring between 220 and 240 will be required to complete a program to become proficient in the subject, including taking required classes and undergoing evaluations.

“We’re not done with our reform,” Driscoll said.

(Associated Press)