Boston Public Schools has posted its highest graduation rates in district history. 81.3 percent of seniors graduated in 2025, according to recently released data, compared with 59.1 percent in 2006.
Despite this surprising jump, Mayor Michelle Wu insistedthat BPS isn’t “lowering any expectations” or “moving the goalposts and making it easier for people to get by.” A closer look at Boston’s standardized test scores and policies, however, challenges this assertion.
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Graduation rates used to be a reasonable proxy for students’ academic standards. But they are slowly losing their meaning as schools across the country inflate grades, making students appear more academically prepared than they really are.
Standardized test scores offer a more objective picture. BPS’s scores on the reading and math portions of the SAT, for example, have remained flat as graduation rates have soared. The average BPS student’s SAT scores hover around the College Board’s college and career readiness benchmarks. Many students score below these thresholds.