30 years later Although the Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993 largely values the state's commitment to student learning, many goals remain unmet. Too many students struggle to meet the minimum academic standards that their peers are achieving. This predicament has fueled a misguided movement to lower or even eliminate standards in the name of equity, rather than being committed to providing the best possible educational outcomes for all students. Masu.
Massachusetts has a constitutional obligation to provide an adequate education to all children. 1993 mcduffie The decisions issued by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court lead in a straight line from the Massachusetts Declaration of 1780, which expressed federal responsibility for public education, to the Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993, a comprehensive, standards-based education law. This is what I drew.
The law requires high standards and accountability for student achievement in exchange for fair funding for school districts across the commonwealth, promoting improved student achievement and making Massachusetts one of the most It was widely acknowledged that it placed at the top of the scale.
The funding aspect of this legislation was also very successful. Not only do we have excellent overall student performance, but our means-tested financial system means we consistently rank near the top in terms of per-pupil expenditure.
With so many tangible successes, what went wrong with the Education Reform Act? Why are there still too many students failing to meet minimum standards?
The law wasn't going far enough. There is an inherent weakness.
Although the court affirmed that states have a responsibility to adequately educate all students, the Education Reform Act builds on the long-standing tradition of using local school districts to control and guide the delivery of educational services. No substantive changes were made. The state limits itself to the role of advisor and auditor, recommending standards and holding districts accountable for meeting them.
More than 300 school districts are not obligated to accept national guidance. We introduced a decentralized delivery system to innovative standards-based legislation. This weakness is also reflected in the funding system. Despite the programmatic assumptions made to calculate state aid, subsequent spending is entirely at the discretion of local authorities.
There would be no problem with home discipline in education if more than 300 school districts were uniformly held to standards, but the tension between state standards and accountability and local government is eroding curriculum standards and reducing accountability. scale is weakened. Progress and expectations for the Education Reform Act are deteriorating.
Look no further than the proposed 2024 ballot question that would eliminate the 10th grade MCAS requirement for high school graduation. Removing this basic standard would invalidate current law and, worse, could create new and costly legal challenges to the established fairness and adequacy of public education in Massachusetts. There is a gender.
Tests have improved and passing scores remain rigorous, but a closer look at the current MCAS graduation requirements shows that they are not the comprehensive standards they were intended to be and that they are the ones attacked by the proposed ballot question. You can see that it's not a high-stakes test either. Although the necessary alternative portfolios and cohort assessments for students with disabilities and low-achieving test takers are always available, many other students graduate without meeting her 10th grade MCAS graduation standards.
In 2010, the Educational Proficiency Plan was adopted as an alternative to demonstrating proficiency on the state's 10th grade MCAS. Under the proficiency plan, students are tested by the school to track their progress toward subjectively defined proficiency levels, but nothing else. result? Typically, 20 percent of students are on mastery plans, so most of their classmates graduate without evidence that they are meeting the minimum expected learning level.
There is a path back to our commitment to providing an excellent education for all students.
State constitutions, courts, and laws allow states to more strongly enforce curriculum standards without taking away local control over how schools bring students to those standards.
With a science-based reading curriculum, proven high school course selection (MassCore), and individualized core subject curricula developed and tested as required by law over the past 30 years, the state knows what works. . What is needed is the will to require districts to use these curricula.
While Massachusetts schools, on average, still rank among the best in the nation, performance has plateaued and declined prior to 2019. Both NAEP and MCAS scores decreased. The learning loss caused by the pandemic has hit the Commonwealth hard. Four years later, there is still no recovery in learning. The most vulnerable students were hit hardest. Unacceptable gaps persist.
Massachusetts may still be at or near the top of the states, but not for all students. The question is how long it will last.
we know how to fix this. we know what to do. Now is the time to do it.
Joseph Esposito is a former senior finance executive who serves on the board of the Massachusetts Education Business Alliance and has served on various boards and committees dealing with education at the state and local level.
