Massachusetts—with Greater Boston in the lead—continues to have one of the most educated populations in the nation, both driving and reflecting its knowledge economy leadership.  As of 2008, 38% of Massachusetts residents 25 years and older held a Bachelor’s Degree or higher, ranking second behind DC and first among  the states in this key competitiveness measure every year since 2000. An additional 20% of residents have had “some college”—which includes Associate’s degrees and certificates issued at community college.  In 2008, Metro Boston ranked 5^th among all major US metros in adult educational attainment, with 42% of residents over 25 holding at least a BA and ranked 1^st among the largest US metros in the population 25 to 44 with a BA or higher (49%).  In Boston, 40% of adults  have a BA or higher, up from just 10% in 1970. 

Massachusetts’ and Boston’s students lead their national and many international peers in key measures of academic achievement.  Massachusetts 4^th and 8^th graders have consistently out-performed students in the other 49 states in mathematics, reading and writing Proficiency in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) exam and Boston’s students have increased Proficiency rates on the same exam at a faster rate than nearly all of the 14 additional urban districts participating in NAEP. Based on the 2007Math NAEP and TIMSS, Boston’s score of 27% for 8^th grade math proficiency ranked 14th among evaluated nations, equivalent to the performance of Australia and Russia, but dwarfed by top-performing Singapore at 73%. 

Greater Boston along with Massachusetts and the Nation are challenged to educate the future workforce.  Newcomer immigrants and children of color represent the population growth tip in Boston, Greater Boston, Massachusetts and the nation. However, changing demographics may pose the largest barrier to boosting student achievement, as highlighted by the 2009 MassINC report Incomplete Grade: Massachusetts Education Reform at 15.  In most schools—in Boston as elsewhere—African American and Latino children, on average, lag their white and Asian counterparts in educational attainment, just as American students as a whole lag their counterparts in Europe and Asia. As the projected growth-tip of the regional workforce and population, racial/ethnic disparities in educational attainment could further exacerbate the jobs/skills mismatch (see also the Civic Agenda’s measure of World Class Human Resources).

Despite recent efforts to strengthen weak points and build connective tissue, Boston’s education pipeline is not yet strong enough to redress early disparities, resulting in stalled or declining progress in key outcomes for many of Boston’s most-challenged students.   Boston’s children—particularly children of color—continue to show high rates of early risk factors such as low birth weight and food insecurity which have been shown as contributors to cognitive and learning delays well before a child enters school (see Health Sector).  At the same time, Boston Public Schools are increasingly educating students with increased challenges: more than 20% are Students with Disabilities, about one-third are English Language Learners and some 75% are low-income students.  Though BPS along with community partners and parents are increasing investment in these students, low achievement and disparities persist on key outcomes.  BPS 3rd grade reading Proficiency scores have been static at about 30% or declining since 2001 with fewer than one in four of Boston’s African American, Latino and English Language Learner 3^rd graders reading at grade level (see Indicator 4.5.1). Boston’s 8^th and 10^th graders have made great strides in attaining Proficiency in all MCAS subjects and exams  (see Indicator 4.5.2).  Due to the persistent under-performance of Boston’s English Language Learners and a finding that just 42% receive the assistance to which they are entitled, the US Department of Justice launched an investigation into BPS language instruction practices. 

Massachusetts and Boston are intensifying efforts to promote innovative school structures and increased accountability, transparency and support for  the “whole child” throughout the education pipeline. Massachusetts and Boston have long been national leaders in advancing innovative education, from establishing the first public schools system to pioneering Charter Schools and Pilot Schools (autonomous schools with control over budgets, staffing, curriculum, scheduling and the length of the school day and year).  The persistence of the racial/ethnic and income achievement gaps following 15 years of education reform led to he creation of the Executive Office of Education and  the Governor Deval Patrick’s Readiness Proposal. Supported by President Obama’s $4.35 billion Race for the Top Fund, legislation is pending that would stimulate another round of comprehensive education reform in the Bay State.  Massachusetts has also instituted a longitudinal data tracking and collection system, called the Growth Model, that allows principals, teachers and parents to track an individual student’s progress through the education pipeline.  Likewise, a host of recent research on the progress of Massachusetts’ Latino students, the comparative performance of BPS, Charter and Pilot Schools, and college retention and completion rates of BPS graduates have spawned numerous legislative, school district and public/private partnership initiatives to support the intricate needs of each individual child.

Recent investments in College Readiness, such as the College Success Initiative and the Advanced Placement Initiative are aimed at improving Boston’s High School and College completion rates, which have stalled over the last decade.  Advanced Placement is increasingly understood as a key input to college success and completion and though BPS has made incredible headway and investments in AP access and expansion, a vast majority of AP courses and test takers are concentrated among the 3 Exam Schools (see Indicator 4.3.2).   BPS high school outcomes have remained virtually unchanged since 2000, with roughly 60% graduating and 20% of students dropping out over 4-years (see Indicator 4.3.2).  Lack of access to AP and low graduation rates also contribute to low college graduation rates. According to the 2007 report of the Task Force on Retention and Completion Rates at Community Colleges, in 2005 the average community college graduation rate for first-time, full-time, degree-seeking students at Massachusetts community colleges was 17.4%, lower than the national average of 21.5%.   (see Indicator 4.3.4).

Changing demographics are intensifying the imperative to fulfill the academic potential  an increasingly diverse and  shrinking child population. In 1950, 5% of all Bostonians were of color, by 2000, Boston was a “majority minority” city and almost one in three of its residents were foreign-born.  By 2007, 75% of children in Boston were of color, and in half of the homes containing a child, a language other than English was spoken. By the fall of 2008, 86% of students enrolled in the Boston Public Schools were of color and for the first time, Latinos outnumbered African Americans. Since 1950, Boston’s child population under 18 has shrunk from more than 200,000 to only slightly more than 100,000. The only age cohort in Boston (and Massachusetts) projected to increase between the years 2010 and 2030 is residents over 55.  Against the backdrop of a persistent racial/ethnic achievement gap, each child much be viewed as a scarce and precious resource.  Research showing the importance of early nurturing and education to later academic and life success continues to inform education policy—from the establishment of Massachusetts’ relatively new Department of Early Education to the City of Boston’s Thrive in 5 partnership with the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley.  BPS and the City of Boston continue to increase their commitment to providing universal, high quality early education.  As the first urban district in the nation to guarantee full-day kindergarten for every child, BPS now offers nearly 2,000 seats for full-day K1 kindergarten for 4-year olds. 

Many of Boston’s students do not have regular access to arts and physical education in school.  Some 70% of BPS students receive some type of performing or visual arts instruction on a regular basis, though opportunities become less frequent as children more from elementary to middle school and from middle to high school, where only 25% of schools offer regular arts education (see Indicator 2.5.2). A recent series of investigative articles by The Boston Globe found that 25% of Boston Public School Students in 15 schools had no access to physical education or in-school sports in school year 2007/08.  These barriers are even more pronounced for Boston’s low-income communities which tend to be “food deserts” and families who find healthful foods to be cost-prohibitive.  (see Indicator 7.6.1). 

Boston Public Schools are increasing the technological literacy of its students as well as their parents.  The Boston Public Schools, through the strategic LincIII plan, has reduced the student : computer ratio to just 3.6 through programs like Laptops for Learning, which places new or refurbished laptops in classrooms and through the Project Refresh partnership between BPS and Boston’s business community which has community, 1,200 refurbished computers in 45 In addition, Boston’s Technology Goes Home program has served more than 3,500 families over 9 years in gaining training and home access to computer  technology—87% report increased connection to the community; 92% of parents cite improvement in children’s schoolwork; and 95% of participants reported significantly improved computers skills

Despite continued investment in the out-of-school time sector, many of Massachusetts’ and Boston’s youth do not participate in after school programming, particularly “high risk” youth.  The 2008 After-school Alliance Survey of Massachusetts has found that nearly 40% of Massachusetts youth are on their own or in the care of a sibling in the hours after school and research on Boston’s out of school time network has identified major gaps in services for teens, at risk youth and late night programming (see Indicator 4.10.1);

According to Boston EQUIP, 20% of Boston’s community-based infant and toddler care programs and 31% of family child care programs were “inadequate in quality” in 2007. High quality early education has been shown to be critical to level the playing field, but just 14% of centers serving low-income families met recommended quality benchmarks, with centers in child-dense Jamaica Plain, Roxbury and East Boston at noticeably lower rates of accredited care. The City of Boston’s Thrive in 5 Initiative is designed to address these disparities;

Massachusetts and Boston Public Schools are increasing investment in STEM education, and pilot projects are showing great success in increasing student achievement in math & sciences.  The Boston Science Partnership—driven by BPS, UMass-Boston and Northeastern University—aims to improve science education in Boston from kindergarten through graduate school by training teachers, increasing science education and linking students with support services throughout the education pipeline.  State-wide, MassInsight has launched the Mass Math and Science Initiative (MMSI) to increase availability of and student participation in STEM AP courses in low-income school districts.  While both initiative relatively new, more than 70% of BPS students passed their first MCAS science exam and MMSI participating schools saw a 39% increase in the number of students scoring a 3 or higher on AP exams—more than 11 times the statewide average increase (see also Technology Highlights).

Greater Boston is challenged to develop a “home grown” STEM workforce give low performance & few graduating with STEM degrees.  For the first time, in 2010, Massachusetts 10^th graders will be required to pass a Science MCAS exam as a requirement for graduation.  However, Boston’s 5^th, 8^th and 10^th graders have continued to show low levels of Proficiency in the standardized science exams.  In 2008, 17% of 5th and 33% of 8^th graders achieved at least the grade-level benchmark of Proficient.  Among Boston’s 10^th graders, about 40% achieved Proficiency in the Technology exam compared to about 30% in Biology, 15% in Physics and less than 10% in Chemistry.  Among Massachusetts high school students, just 15% to 19% have stated an intent to pursue a college degree in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math between 2007 and 2009.

Massachusetts and Boston face a “perfect storm” of budgetary pressures  driven by increasing personnel costs (largely related to rising health carecosts) and an influx of high-need students such as English Language Learners, declining revenues  and economic uncertainty associated with the recession--all of which threaten the viability and sustainability of promising innovations at every stage of the education pipeline. At the center of unfunded innovation is the Governor’s Readiness Project, an ambitious 10-year, strategic plan for the future of Massachusetts’ educational system calls for more than 50 reforms to the education pipeline including, universal state-wide full-day kindergarten, free community college tuition, drop-out prevention programs, and in-district, autonomous “Readiness Schools.”  Following years of increased funding and access to universal, full-day kindergarten, Boston and many other districts in MA, are considering reverting to half-day Kindergarten due to lack of funding.  Statewide, spending per-pupil has jumped $282 since 2005 and in reaction to decreased state funding following the recession, many wealthier, suburban districts including Winchester, Lexington and Hingham have reduced full-day programs or instituted a fee for full-day kindergarten.  In 2009, Governor Patrick announced a host of cuts to education in an effort to lose a $600 budget gap, including:$32 million from the University of Massachusetts, $31.5 million from elementary and secondary education, $16.5 million from the department of early education, $16 million from community colleges and  $14.4 million from other state colleges.

Massachusetts and Boston have among the highest per-pupil costs in the nation and increasing share  of English Language Learners and Students with Disabilities suggests higher costs in the future. According to the most recent comparison data, in 2007 Massachusetts ranked 13^th in the nation in income adjusted per-pupil spending at more than $13,000 per student.  In the same year, Boston ranked 33^rd out of 329 MA districts in per pupil spending, at $16,467 per student.  However, as the percent of Boston’s students who require special education services increases (now 20% are Students with Disabilities and 40% are English Language Learners) per pupil spending increases from $11,000 for Regular Education students, to about $14,000 for English Language Learners, $17,000 for Moderately-Separate and more than $26,000 for substantially separate special education students (see Indicator 4.11.1). 

BPS spending on support services and personnel costs continue to consume a large percentage of the budget, perhaps to the detriment of new innovations.  In FY09, the BPS general fund was more than $832 million, with more than 40% going to support services including many “third rail issues” such as transportation costs, which comprise nearly 10% of the total budget, employee benefits which comprise 14% and building maintenance which eats up 9% of the budget.  By comparison, English Language Learner instruction comprises just 4% of the budget, career and technical education 0.6% and adult learning 0.1% of the total budget.  Likewise, recent accomplishments such as Expanded Learning Time, Parents University and Dual Enrollment are ideas and innovations that have been implemented before, only to be cut at the first sign of financial instability.

As the cost of a college degree has become nearly unattainable to most Massachusetts families, enrollment in the public higher education system has increased while state funding remains among the lowest in the nation.  From 2000 to 2008, the cost of Massachusetts community colleges increased from 18% to 26% of median family income and 4-year state colleges and universities increased from 21% to 32%--both well above national rates according to theNational Center for Public Policy and Higher Education's report Measuring Up 2008.  At the same time, the recession has caused massive increases in applications to Massachusetts public colleges and universities, which increased by 29% at UMASS-Amherst, 33% at UMASS-Lowell, 60% at MassArt, 50% at Bridgewater State College and 25% at Bunker Hill Community College, where they now hold classes until 2:30 AM to accommodate the demand.  However, Massachusetts consistently ranks below nearly all other states in support for public higher education, coming in at 49 again in 2009 (see Indicator 4.11.2).