Left Center Left

Judith Baker and Felix Arroyo have an op-ed today listing ten challenges for the incoming Boston Schools Superintendant. Some of the list strikes me as grandstanding (any candidate will be well aware of these challenges), but I agree with much on the list, and it’s certainly worth reproducing (numbering is mine):

1. Figure out the true school drop-out pattern of Boston students and address the reasons that affected groups are leaving school.
2. Develop an action plan to confront and narrow the ‘STEM’ — science, technology, engineering, and math — gap. These vitally important growth fields are the most race- and gender-segregated ones in America, and Boston students need much more support in all of them.
3. Systematically examine whether the needs of second language learners are being met now that bilingual education is no longer state policy.
4. Reopen the exam schools to appropriate numbers of students of color.
5. Provide high quality vocational/technical education to more students and find ways to energize business and labor support for these programs.
6. Make a significant commitment to expand extracurricular offerings. Remind ourselves that children will develop as scholars only as they are given opportunities to develop as people. Face the crisis of the disappearance of school clubs, organizations, social and cultural activities, and athletic opportunities. The wider problem of urban schools empty at 2 o’clock while suburban schools hum with activity and boast of ‘’something for everyone" is an undocumented gap that leaves too many of our youth alienated from their schools and unproductive for many hours of the day — and some on the street.
7. Create effective incentives for retention of young teachers and strong educators of all ages.
8. Reevaluate the use and effects of standardized testing, especially MCAS, looking carefully at negative effects such as the numbing impact of multiple failures, de-emphasis on teacher creativity in favor of scripted teaching, and substitution of ‘’test prep" for high level and elective courses.
9. Face up to the militarization of many of our high schools where JROTC has replaced academic and physical education choices and where opportunities for peaceful service are not equally promulgated or even always available.
10. Reinvigorate public participation in schools. Neither the appointed School Committee nor the neglected School Site Councils in most of our schools motivate, involve or empower parents or other citizens to roll up our sleeves and support the Boston Public Schools.

Of these, #4 seems particularly worth emphasizing - some time ago Derek at Third Decade had some excellent suggestions for increasing something closer to racial parity in the exam schools. #6 is an excellent point, too: I don’t have much faith in school clubs or extracurricular activity per se, but the disparity in that terrain between urban and suburban schools is palpable.

Some of these are vital problems, but short of any specifics we’re not much further along to solving them: for #2, is an "action plan" really what’s needed or a more fundamental decision about science and math education?

Of course I’ll take issue with their position on standardized testing (#8). To the extent that the MCAS has led to "teaching to the test," we should look to the experience of European countries which rely heavily on standardized testing. My impression is that in UK and France, teachers don’t teach to the test because they don’t know the test. A levels or the bac test on general competence in a discipline, not a narrow set of points to cover. In other words, the way we’re doing standardized testing may not be the best way, but in light of #2 particularly I’d argue for more rigorous application of it, rather than less. If Boston schools are substituting test prep for electives and higher-level courses, is that not a sign that they weren’t successful in imparting basic skills beforehand? Should we have elective and higher level courses for students who don’t master 10th grade competency in language, math, science, history and social science? Currently MCAS is required only for the first two areas, even.