Higher graduation rates are something to celebrate, so long as they’re actually backed by an increase in academic achievement, but Boston’s standardized test scores tell a different story.
Mayor Michelle Wu (D) says her city’s graduation rate at public high schools — 81.3 percent last year, the highest in district history — came without “lowering any expectations” or “moving the goalposts.”
Then why did 73 percent of the class of 2019 graduate, with an average SAT score of 1016, while the class of 2025 had an average score of 1004?
In what has become a pattern across America, graduation rates have increased while standardized test scores dropped sharply and have yet to recover. The evidence suggests kids are not actually better prepared.
Consider how much Boston’s Class of 2025 struggled to meet expectations on the MCAS, the state’s standardized test, when they were in 10th grade. Less than half of students met or exceeded expectations in English and fewer than 40 percent did in math. On both subjects, Boston students fared well below the state average.
——
1998! Money and school performance.
A.B.T.: “Ain’t been taught.”
8,897 (!) Madison 4k to 3rd grade students scored lower than 75% of the students in the national comparison group during the 2024-2025 school year.
Madison taxpayers have long supported far above average (now > $26,000 per student) K-12 tax & spending practices. This, despite long term, disastrous reading results.
Madison Schools: More $, No Accountability
The taxpayer funded Madison School District long used Reading Recovery…
The data clearly indicate that being able to read is not a requirement for graduation at (Madison) East, especially if you are black or Hispanic”
My Question to Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers on Teacher Mulligans and our Disastrous Reading Results
2017: West High Reading Interventionist Teacher’s Remarks to the School Board on Madison’s Disastrous Reading Results
Madison’s taxpayer supported K-12 school district, despite spending far more than most, has long tolerated disastrous reading results.
“An emphasis on adult employment”
Wisconsin Public Policy Forum Madison School District Report[PDF]
WEAC: $1.57 million for Four Wisconsin Senators
Friday Afternoon Veto: Governor Evers Rejects AB446/SB454; an effort to address our long term, disastrous reading results
Booked, but can’t read (Madison): functional literacy, National citizenship and the new face of Dred Scott in the age of mass incarceration.
When A Stands for Average: Students at the UW-Madison School of Education Receive Sky-High Grades. How Smart is That?
Legislative Letter to Jill Underly on Wisconsin Literacy