Yes, They Can!

The Massachusetts Story of Reform, Expectations, Achievement and Challenges

David P. Driscoll

Commissioner of Education

November 4, 2006

The Massachusetts Story of Reform

- “A Nation At Risk” was national call for change

- Education Reform Act of 1993 called for sweeping reform and held everyone accountable

- Unparalleled Legislative support

- Created standards and assessment system

- Refused to bend on standards or expectations

- Critics predicted skyrocketing dropouts and high failure rates…..

….They were wrong.

What’s Been Accomplished in Massachusetts?

• 1993-1995– Finance and Governance Reforms

• 1996-2000: – Articulation of Standards & Assessments

• 2001-2003: – Student & School Accountability

• 2004 and Beyond:– Capacity Building/Targeted Assistance

Our Success Is Evident In Our Numbers

• In 2005, MA was first state to ever have the highest scaled scores on the NAEP Reading and Math exams in Grades 4 and 8 in the same year.

• In 2006, 59% of 10th graders scored Proficient or Advanced in both ELA and Math

• In 2006, 84% of 10th graders earned their CD on their first try, up from 68% in 2001 and just 48% in 2000.

• SAT scores rose for 14 straight years until they declined in 2006.

• For the first time, our achievement gap is beginning to close.

Massachusetts By The Numbers

School Districts 388

Public Schools 1,875

Public School Students 972,371

Teachers 73,593

Core Academic Teachers Identified as Highly Qualified

94%

Student Attendance Rate 94.4%

Annual Dropout Rate 3.7%

Student-Teacher Ratio 13.2 to 1

Numbers Show That Our Population Is Changing

Percentage Change in Student Population 1995 - 2005

20%

40%43%

2%

9%

0%5%

10%15%20%25%30%35%40%45%50%

African-American Asian Hispanic White All MA Students

37

68

29

776868

88

61

8984

01020304050

60708090

100

AfricanAmerican

Asian Hispanic White All

2001 2006

Percentage of Gr. 10 Students Earning CD On First Attempt – 2001 & 2006

2001 2006

Percentage Point

IncreaseAll Students 68 84 16African American 37 68 31Asian 68 88 20Hispanic 29 61 32White 77 89 12Special Education 30 55 25LEP 7 39 32

Gr. 10 CD Attainment Results Show Steady Progress Since 2001

Percentage of Gr. 10 Students Scoring Proficient or Above in ELA by Race

23

50

17

57

5147

73

39

76

70

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

African American Asian Hispanic White All

2001 2006

Percentage of Gr. 10 Students Scoring Proficient or Above in Math by Race

16

60

13

51

45

40

80

36

73

67

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

African American Asian Hispanic White All

2001 2006

Percentage of Gr. 10 Students Scoring Proficient in ELA and Math by Race 2001- 2006

38

45

1310

4340

50

1411

4545

50

18

14

5150

56

23

18

5654

60

2321

6159

69

32

27

66

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

All Asian African American Hispanic White

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Percentage of Gr. 10 Students Scoring Proficient on Gr. 10 ELA and Math: Urban vs. Non-Urban

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Urban Non-Urban All

Is the Achievement Gap Closing? Ask these kids...

O’Bryant High School students from Boston celebrate with Mayor Menino and Gov. Romney after learning they’ve received the Adams Scholarship.

…Or These Kids…

Adams Scholarship recipients get free in-state college tuition for high MCAS performance.

…Or These Kids…

Students and teachers at the Dorchester Education Complex celebrated when they learned their MCAS performance made their school one of the top five most improved in the state.

Nara moved to the U.S. from Uruguay in 2001. She graduated 8th in her Fitchburg High School class in 2006. She attends Fitchburg State College.

Adilson is 19 and came to the U.S. from Cape Verde 14 months ago. He has already earned his CD and met all requirements for graduation from New Bedford High School.

…Or These Kids, Who Both Immigrated To The U.S. With Limited English Skills

• Tenth grade performance has increased each year but 2006 was the second year in a row we saw slight declines in the lower grades.

• The achievement gap is getting narrower, but is still far from closed. Graduation rates are unacceptably low for all students, especially Blacks and Hispanics.

• Too few students graduate from high school college ready.

• Too few students ever graduate from college.

• The bottom line: MA may be at the top nationally, but we are far from the top globally.

But Our Work Is Not Finished

Nationally We Are Losing Too Many Students In the “Educational Pipeline”

Sources: National Center for Public Policy & Higher Education, Policy Alert, April 2004.

% 9th Graders Earning

BA

29%

40%

52%

76%

18%

27%

40%

68%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Graduate HS Start College Persist to 2nd Year Earn Degree

Massachusetts

United States

Source: Manhattan InstitutePublic High School Graduation and College-Readiness Rates: 1991–2002, February 2005

46%

59%

81%

52%

78%

56%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

Latino African American White

Massachusetts

United States

Too Few Ninth Graders Graduate High School

Among High School Graduates, Too Few Are “College Ready”

14%

29%

43%

20%23%

40%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

Latino African American White

Massachusetts

United States

Source: Manhattan Institute, Public High School Graduation and College-Readiness Rates: 1991–2002, February 2005, http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/ewp_08.htm.

Grade 8 MathSingapore 604Korea 587Chinese Taipei

585Hong Kong 582Japan 579Belgium 558Netherlands 540Hungary 532Slovakia 534Canada 531Slovenia 530Russia 526Australia 525Czech Rep., Finland 520Malaysia 519MassachusettsMassachusetts 513United States

502International Avg. 487

Grade 8 ScienceChinese Taipei 569Singapore 568Hungary 552Japan 550Korea 549Netherlands 545Australia 540Czech Rep. 539Finland, Slovakia 535MassachusettsMassachusetts 533533United States 515International Avg. 488

Source: TIMSS 1999

Globally, Massachusetts and the Nation are Far Behind: 1999 TIMMS Results

What Did We Do Right in Massachusetts?

• We set the Right Standard for High School Graduation

• We have had unity among State Leaders

• Our Assessment System is Fair and Transparent

• Resources for Academic Support

We Started Slow, And Set The Right Standard

• We began by tackling English and Math only; rolled out other tests later.

• Administered English and Math exams for 3 years before they counted

• Set the “Goldilocks” passing score: not too high, not too low.

• Board of Education just voted to increase requirements to push more students to Proficient.

Unity Among State Legislators and Business Leaders

• Initial commitment from business community• 4 Republican Governors and Democratic Legislature (and counting)• Stability of State Board of Education and Commissioner• Support of urban superintendents• Ongoing support of business groups

– Mass Insight– MassINC– Foundation for Partnerships – MassPartners

We Created A Fair and Transparent System

• Test questions, rubrics and anchor papers released • Student reports include item by item results • MCAS Alternate Assessment Portfolio Program• MCAS Appeals process • Focused Retest• Academic Support Grants• Certificate of Attainment for kids who don’t pass

The Next Phase of Education Reform:

Has To Be Student-Focused

• Get students engaged in their learning• Graduate students who are career and college-

ready• Address social and emotional barriers to learning• More parental support• Longer school day/year