How Can Massachusetts Better Prepare the State’s Students for College?
One statistic Massachusetts high schools are not proud to admit is that half of the state’s 10th graders were proficient in math on MCAS tests last year.
While Massachusetts high schools can claim that nine out of 10 students graduate on time, one statistic they're not proud to admit is that half of the state's 10th graders were proficient in math on MCAS tests last year. The state has an education crisis on its hands, writes Chad Aldeman, an adviser to the national nonprofit Collaborative for Student Success, in a recent Boston Globe editorial.
According to Aldeman, while Massachusetts has seen approximately 24,000 additional public college enrollments since 2022, the 16% increase is being largely driven by free community college and tuition-free public four-year college for low-income students.
“Unfortunately, these high-level attainment measures are hiding some pernicious trends,” Aldeman said. “First, there's the stark fact that about 26,000 Massachusetts high school sophomores only 'partially' met state expectations in math as measured by MCAS tests. Another 11,000 fell into the lowest 'not meeting' expectations performance category. Similar numbers of students were behind in English and science.”
In addition, public college enrollment gains are driven more by adult learners than recent high school graduates, as indicated by a drop in the matriculation rate of recent graduates from 50% in 2015 to 44% in 2024, according to The Boston Globe.
Community college completion remains equally problematic. Slightly more than one in three graduates earn a degree or certificate within six years, placing Massachusetts near the bottom nationally and showing worse outcomes for Black and Hispanic students.
“In sum, Massachusetts has more students entering public colleges and universities than before, but fewer of them are prepared academically, and only a fraction complete a degree,” Aldeman concluded.
Massachusetts policymakers are weighing a new high school graduation standard under an executive order from Gov. Maura Healey in early 2025. They are proposing a MassCore rigorous curriculum aligned with college admissions, capstone projects, career and academic planning, and potential “seals of distinction” in academics, civic engagements, or digital literacy.
According to Aldeman, the statewide council on education projects moving away from the former MCAS exam graduation requirement — which Massachusetts voters rejected in a 2024 referendum — to end-of-course assessments that would be given at the conclusion of algebra I, English language arts, science, and social studies classes.
In his editorial for the Globe, Aldeman suggests going further. He recommends integrating objective performance measures with strong accountability across K-12 schools, districts, teacher-training programs, and public colleges, complemented by wraparound supports to improve retention and graduation outcomes.
