Mahar Grade 10 ELA Growth Percentile: 9th Highest in State

The release of 2012 MCAS data last week brought about what has become a usual stir of activity in the media.  Whether we like it or not, our system for accountability pits neighboring districts against one another.  I think it is human nature.  People just want to know who the best is, who the worst is, and where they stand in this continuum.  In recent years, test results for individual students tell parents how their children performed in relation to their same aged classmates who scored similarly on previous MCAS administrations state-wide.

For many people who do not work in schools or take a seriously active role in understanding all of the information, it can be very confusing.  The casual visit to the assessment portion of our Department of Education’s website presents acronyms, and statistical analyses that require a careful eye.  In 2012, more than 395,000 Massachusetts students took the MCAS and there is plenty that can be said about their performance locally as well as across the Commonwealth.

For many districts in Central and Western Massachusetts it is business as usual when it comes to reporting our scores.  With great certainty our districts are improving as the Department of Education encourages central office administrators, who support principals.  The principals provide direction and guidance to teachers and staff who have the most monumental task of all; teaching, motivating, and assisting their students.  But as always when it comes to comparing district to district, the playing field is not level.

The original examination on this topic was published in 1966 by a researcher named Coleman.  He showed that children from high socioeconomic backgrounds consistently outperformed children from low socioeconomic backgrounds when it came to school based outcomes.  This fact has been researched and reported on again and again and again over the 66 years that followed his study.  Last year a book called “Unequal Childhoods” was published and it was more of the same.  Rich kids outperforming poor kids nationwide. 

The system of accountability has put extreme focus on individual teachers, administrators, schools, and districts – indicating that the axis for real transformation in student performance rests on local school committees.  Yet many argue that with per pupil expenditures so out of whack, the low socioeconomic districts will really never be able to compete with the high socioeconomic districts.  For example, the per-pupil expenditure in 2011 for Orange, MA was roughly $5,000.00 less per student that it was in Newton, MA.   If the Orange Elementary Public Schools were funded at the same level as the Newton Public Schools it would have an operating budget of $11 million rather than the $6.9 million that it is provided to do business with.

For those who are waiting for the Federal or State Government to do something drastic to bring about some fairness to education funding, my recommendation is for you is to be optimistic, but don’t hold your breath.  In our region we have been taking steps locally to provide our children and young adults with as many opportunities to compete with their classmates around the state – and not just on our athletic fields. 

Specialized programming along with focused day-to-day instruction has brought Ralph C. Mahar Regional High School to a high point with regard to our Grade 10 English and Language Arts performance.  In 2012 our district is reported by the Department of Education to have just fewer than 50% of our student body classified as low income.  This is more than 15% higher than the average of all districts in the state.  And you know what?  In 2012, 10^th graders at Ralph C. Mahar Regional High School outperformed the state average on their English and Language Arts Assessments.   It appears as though we can compete.