The Boston Public School Committee discussed the 2024 State Assessment and Accountability Results from the BPS Office of Data and Accountability during its Wednesday meeting.
The assessment data includes the 2024 Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System results and accountability results that show information on each district and school’s performance against improvement targets. The MCAS is a statewide exam that aims to help teachers and parents understand students’ academic progress and performance.
BPS Chief of Teaching and Learning Lesley Miller said the department “knew there was an implementation issue” with educational materials last spring.
Only 42 percent of students met expectations on the MCAS, according to the Boston Globe.
“These scores were certainly not what we had hoped for,” Miller said. “We were hoping for better.”
Linda Chen, senior deputy superintendent of academics, acknowledged “disparities in achievement” in schools, particularly with students learning English as a second language and students with disabilities.
“The idea is when students are included and have access to grade-level materials and teaching, that is the goal to make sure they are all at grade level,” Chen said.
According to the data presented at the meeting, English language learners are performing below the former average in English Language Arts.
Chen said this results from English language learners not having access to the grade-level instructional materials because they are in isolated classrooms with other non-native English speakers.
“They’re often isolated from not only their peers, but they are isolated from grade-level content,” Chen said.
Superintendent Mary Skipper said it is difficult for incoming English language learners, especially those in high school, to learn English while studying the content on the MCAS.
Committee Member Rafaela Polanco Garcia said to fix this issue, BPS needs “more bilingual teachers.”
“At the end of the day, the ones who are really affected are the students,” Garcia said through a translator.
BPS is trying to blend teaching students whose first language is not English with the teaching of the material required to pass the state exam, Skipper said.
“It’s not just that [the teachers] know the native language but that they can teach the content,” Skipper said.
Joelle Gamere, chief of the Office of Multicultural and Multilingual Education, said BPS has established partnerships with Boston College and Stonehill College to identify “truly bilingual educators, people who … have the language capacity to meet the needs of our students.”
Committee Vice Chair Michael O’Neill said “literacy is job one right now.”
The BPS committee will meet next on Oct. 23 at 6 p.m.
