Mathematical Sciences, Secondary Education
MASSACHUSETTS EDUCATIONAL REFORM ACT OF 1993
The Massachusetts Public School System has evolved rapidly over the years, and much of its recent success can be attributed to the 1993 Massachusetts Education Reform Act (MERA). Although the political climate surrounding education has shifted since its implementation, the MERA continues to drive improvements in public education and to live up to its reputation as an initially controversial yet sound document.
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The framework for the MERA was established by the Every Child a Winner report of 1991, where the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education, or MBAE, "call[ed] for high standards, accountability for performance, and equitable distribution of resources among school districts" (MBAE ECAW). Thus, the MERA required the school system to create a set of standards for each student to meet as a minimum measurement of performance, paving the way for a statewide accountability and assessment system to ensure progress. The MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System) exam was born.
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Public school systems across Massachusetts vary in economic security, so in order to support the statewide implementation this new protocol, the MERA established an improved financial system for schools. Districts were now able to access the resources that were necessary to meet these standards, despite any limited funding. This led to major increases in state financial aid access for public schools.
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Districts have since been able to improve their reputations and to provide a platform for administrators and teachers to develop their skills and to properly evaluate their instructional proficiency. Many charter and vocational schools (like Worcester Technical High School) emerged following the implementation of the MERA, supporting the diverse needs and talents of students in the state. Massachusetts has greatly progressed as a leading state in the field of education, thanks to its reborn foundation in the Massachusetts Educational Reform Act.
MASSACHUSETTS PERFORMANCE RELATIVE TO THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
Reforms from the MERA have brought about progress in Massachusetts, which has led the state to measure significantly well when compared with the remainder of the international educational community. In 2011, eighth grade students from each state participated in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), where students from Massachusetts scored higher than both the U.S. national averages and the actual TIMSS scoring scale. In fact, Massachusetts scored 52 points above the U.S. national average and 61 points above the TIMSS scale average in that year, as shown in Table 1. Generally, across various genders, races, ethnicities, and socioeconomic statuses, eighth grade public school students across all groups in Massachusetts still scored above the TIMSS scale average in 2011.
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The 2011 TIMSS was not only administered in the United States, but across various educational systems around the world. When compared and analyzed, Massachusetts only fell short in score to those of Korea, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, and Hong Kong (as represented by Table 2). Remarkably, these four school systems were the only educational systems that scored higher than Massachusetts on both a U.S. national and an international scale.
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Although the comparative TIMSS scores in Massachusetts with the remainder of its international community positively reflect on the state educational system, the MERA itself had an impact on the performance of students in Massachusetts over a period of time leading up to the 2011 TIMSS, as previously discussed. As shown in Figure 1 and in Figure 2, from 1999 to 2011, eighth grade students in Massachusetts improved their average TIMSS Mathematics scores by 48 points and their average TIMSS Science scores by 34 points. In particular, the Mathematics score increase was the highest of any benchmarked participating country for this period of time. It is possible that other states across the U.S. have thus adopted some components of the Massachusetts Educational Reform Act over time, given these results and positive data, which will only make for a stronger national educational system for years to come (TIMSS 2011).
WORCESTER Â Â Â Â PUBLIC SCHOOLS
The Worcester Public School district, guided by the success of the Massachusetts school system, strives to meet all of its students' needs and to conduct its instruction and to deliver content using a personalized approach in the classroom. It emphasizes high achievement for each student by providing access to advanced opportunities for holistic education, by focusing on social and emotional learning, and by maintaining rigor in the classroom.
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Worcester currently supports administration and teachers across 45 schools. Among these are 7 secondary schools, 4 junior high schools, and 34 elementary schools. The district boasts a student-teacher ratio of 13.7 : 1, which is slightly below the statewide average. Teachers and administrators in the district oversee close to 25,415 students, of whom 57.5% have a first language other than English, speaking over 74 different languages instead. An average of 94.4% of these students attend school near-daily, contributing to an 86.3% four-year graduation rate for 2018, with 82.3% of these students planning on attending some sort of post-secondary educational system (as opposed to joining the work force or the military) following graduation (WPS 2019).
WORCESTER TECHNICAL
HIGH SCHOOL
Worcester Technical High School, or WTHS, is located in eastern Worcester and combines hands-on work within 23 different student "shops" with practical education and an alternating vocational-academic schedule. Worcester Tech contains around 1,426 students who are enrolled at a student-teacher ratio of 10 : 1, all of which are exposed to both a standard academic curriculum and to valuable training in a trade of their choice, allowing them the option to enter either the workforce or another post-secondary option after graduation with practical skills and learning tools under their belts.
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An average of 96% of students attended classes each day as of 2018, and WTHS maintained a remarkably low drop-out rate of 0% during the 2018-2019 school year due to the value that it provides to its students (who have to apply to the school and to maintain satisfactory grades in both their shops and in their regular classes to remain in good standing) and to the district. Table 3 details exact plans that the 97% of students who graduated during this same academic year planned on venturing into post-graduation, including the 77.8% of whom who planned on attending a post-secondary educational option.
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Demographically speaking, WTHS enrolls students who are comparably as diverse as those in the district as a whole, as demonstrated in Table 4. However, as this table also suggests, the enrollment of hispanic and latinx students at WTHS is significantly greater than that of the Worcester Public School district, with WTHS containing near double the amount of students identifying in this category as the district does. Furthermore, as previously discussed, Table 5 mentions that 46.6% of the students at WTHS speak a language other than English in their homes. This value is more than twice that of the state.
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From a personal aspect, I came from a high school that served predominantly White, Asian, and Indian families, where nearly everybody was expected to speak fluent English. The culture at WTHS, both racially and ethnically, presented a challenge for me from the start, with its city-based dynamic and its focus on vocations rather than on attending college as the sole acceptable post-secondary option (this is further discussed on the Final Reflection page). As expected, the students in my classroom presented barriers and challenges that required for me to adjust my practices based upon their individual and overall performance, not just on where I expected them to be or to progress by their preset district standards.
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Worcester Tech often scores comparatively well on MCAS tests, typically producing scores that are above the averages for both the district and the state. According to Results from September 2019, tenth grade Next Generation MCAS takers met and progressed toward expectations at a rate higher than that of the state (see Figure 3 / Table 6) in their English exams and performed comparatively with the state in their Mathematics assessments. Teachers and educators devote a significant portion of class time to preparing for these exams to ensure that the school stays moderately progressing toward targets (WTHS 2018-2019).
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At Worcester Tech, I taught two Inclusion-level (a mixture of IEPs and 504 Plans) sophomore Geometry classes, one section of English Language Learner (ELL) freshman Algebra I, and a double-period of senior-level Math IV, which counted for dual credit though the local community college and of which I taught two alternating periods, due to shop weeks and academic weeks (see My Students). I focused on MCAS improvement and on diverse, responsive activities to promote each element of a successful educator (see Essential Elements of CAP) to ensure that my classroom stayed true to standards.
STANDARDS
For each lesson plan that I generated, I had to adhere to a specific set of curriculum standards as set forth by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education (DESE). These standards have been re-established and revised since the MERA sought to improve the educational system in Massachusetts, and they remain a useful resource off of which to base lectures and activities. This maintains accountability for both students and teachers, and as it aligns with the policies set forth by the MERA, adhering to this curriculum increases performance on state assessments (MCF).