Massachusetts
U.S.
Rank
Score:
78%
Grade:
C
Rank:
#14
Some of the best charter schools in the country are in Boston, serving large numbers of disadvantaged and minority students and boosting test scores, college graduation rates and more.
Law passed: 1993
Most recently amended: 2015
Number of charter schools: 78
Number of charter students: 47,978
Cap on the number of schools allowed:? Yes. Maximum of 120 total schools, with 72 of those for commonwealth charter schools, and 48 reserved for Horace Mann charter schools.
Virtual charters allowed? No*
AUTHORIZERS: Only allows one authorizer – Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education for the main type of charter schools in Massachusetts, Commonwealth charter schools and Horace Mann charter schools, which are traditional public schools or programs which operate under a charter approved by the district board of education and the local collective bargaining unit in the district in which the school is located. They also must have secondary approval from the State Board.
GROWTH: The cap of 72 Commonwealth charter schools has been reached, and both legislative efforts and a 2018 ballot initiative to lift the cap were unsuccessful. 48 charters are reserved for Horace Mann charter schools. However, a funding cap also limits growth – districts may send no more than 9% of per-pupil funding to charter schools.
OPERATIONS: Charter schools operate free from most regulations that apply to traditional public schools, one of the main reasons for the success of charter schools in the Commonwealth. *Regarding virtual charter schools, while they are not permitted by law, groups of 2 or more school committees or boards of trustees of charter schools are allowed to submit proposals to establish a virtual school.
EQUITY: Charter schools are supposed to have equal access to all applicable categorical federal and state funding, including for pre-K. School districts are eligible to receive full or partial reimbursement of charter school expenses from state appropriations. In 2019, charter received an increase of facilities funding from $893 per student to $938 in 2019, and a law passed to make it the state’s goal to fully fund charter school tuition reimbursement by 2023.
Commonwealth charter schools receive a tuition amount which is the sum of the per-pupil amount from each district sending students to the charter school. Tuition amounts for each sending district must be adjusted to reflect the actual per-pupil spending amount that would be expended in the district if the students attended the district schools.
Horace Mann charter schools receive a tuition amount that is determined annually as part of their local school committee budget process. Funding levels deemed inequitable can be appealed to the commissioner.
Additionally, Massachusetts law requires school districts to provide transportation to charter school students on the same basis as it is provided to regular public school students in the district.
Score:
Grade:
F
Rank:
#40
There are no choice programs in this state.
Score:
Grade:
C
Rank:
#20
“Vaguely ties performance to pay…” but requires teachers to pass subject matter tests.
TRAINING AND RECRUITMENT: 84%
General Teacher Preparation 92%
Elementary Teacher Preparation 83%
Secondary Teacher Preparation 85%
Special Education Teacher Preparation 88%
Alternate Routes 70%
STAFFING AND SUPPORT: 67%
Hiring 65%
Retaining Effective Teachers 69%
TEACHER EVALUATION: 79%
TEACHER COMPENSATION: 62%
Score:
78%
Grade:
C
Rank:
#14
Some of the best charter schools in the country are in Boston, serving large numbers of disadvantaged and minority students and boosting test scores, college graduation rates and more.
Law passed: 1993
Most recently amended: 2015
Number of charter schools: 78
Number of charter students: 47,978
Cap on the number of schools allowed:? Yes. Maximum of 120 total schools, with 72 of those for commonwealth charter schools, and 48 reserved for Horace Mann charter schools.
Virtual charters allowed? No*
AUTHORIZERS: Only allows one authorizer – Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education for the main type of charter schools in Massachusetts, Commonwealth charter schools and Horace Mann charter schools, which are traditional public schools or programs which operate under a charter approved by the district board of education and the local collective bargaining unit in the district in which the school is located. They also must have secondary approval from the State Board.
GROWTH: The cap of 72 Commonwealth charter schools has been reached, and both legislative efforts and a 2018 ballot initiative to lift the cap were unsuccessful. 48 charters are reserved for Horace Mann charter schools. However, a funding cap also limits growth – districts may send no more than 9% of per-pupil funding to charter schools.
OPERATIONS: Charter schools operate free from most regulations that apply to traditional public schools, one of the main reasons for the success of charter schools in the Commonwealth. *Regarding virtual charter schools, while they are not permitted by law, groups of 2 or more school committees or boards of trustees of charter schools are allowed to submit proposals to establish a virtual school.
EQUITY: Charter schools are supposed to have equal access to all applicable categorical federal and state funding, including for pre-K. School districts are eligible to receive full or partial reimbursement of charter school expenses from state appropriations. In 2019, charter received an increase of facilities funding from $893 per student to $938 in 2019, and a law passed to make it the state’s goal to fully fund charter school tuition reimbursement by 2023.
Commonwealth charter schools receive a tuition amount which is the sum of the per-pupil amount from each district sending students to the charter school. Tuition amounts for each sending district must be adjusted to reflect the actual per-pupil spending amount that would be expended in the district if the students attended the district schools.
Horace Mann charter schools receive a tuition amount that is determined annually as part of their local school committee budget process. Funding levels deemed inequitable can be appealed to the commissioner.
Additionally, Massachusetts law requires school districts to provide transportation to charter school students on the same basis as it is provided to regular public school students in the district.
Score:
Grade:
F
Rank:
#40
There are no choice programs in this state.
Score:
Grade:
C
Rank:
#20
“Vaguely ties performance to pay…” but requires teachers to pass subject matter tests.
TRAINING AND RECRUITMENT: 84%
General Teacher Preparation 92%
Elementary Teacher Preparation 83%
Secondary Teacher Preparation 85%
Special Education Teacher Preparation 88%
Alternate Routes 70%
STAFFING AND SUPPORT: 67%
Hiring 65%
Retaining Effective Teachers 69%
TEACHER EVALUATION: 79%
TEACHER COMPENSATION: 62%
Score:
Grade:
C
Rank:
#31
Massachusetts does not require individual technology plans, but expects schools to incorporate educational technology into their existing school improvement & funding plans. Massachusetts adopted Digital Literacy and Computer Science Standards to prepare students for critical workforce needs.
Massachusetts DOE provides free digital learning resources for both teachers and students; students have access to resources such as the 3D printing program SketchUp. Teachers have the opportunity to take professional development courses with the eLearning system.
The state currently has two K-12 virtual schools that are open to public school students. Massachusetts lawmakers established the Digital Learning Advisory Council to assist the DOE board of directors and commissioner to advise how the state implements digital education and create policies for virtual schools.
Bandwidth: “97.2% of students in Massachusetts can access the Internet at speeds of 100 kbps per student, and many students are connected at higher speeds. But there is still work to be done. 24,684 students still need more bandwidth for digital learning.”
Massachusetts’ Innovation School Initiative allows districts to create autonomous schools that have flexibility and freedom for increased creativity in areas such as curriculum, budget, school calendar, and staffing policies.
The state also has the Massachusetts Personalized Learning Edtech Consortium (MAPLE) which is a part of the New England Secondary Schools Consortium (NESSC) to further expand personalized learning opportunities for students.
In 2016, The Center for Collaborative Education created the Massachusetts Personalized Learning Network, which partners with district leaders, principals, and educators across the state to design personalized learning programs in their schools.
On Wednesday, March 25, Governor Baker announced that schools would remain closed until at least Monday, May 4, and the following day, DESE released remote learning recommendations. Districts were encouraged to develop remote learning plans with guidance on how to make them the most useful for their students and while many districts followed these guidelines and ensured continued instruction for all students, not all did. In Boston, the teachers’ union negotiated a four day work week, and teachers were not allowed to be required to do anything on video.
Education Commissioner Jeff Riley wrote on March 26th: “We must all pull together to help students continue their learning over this extended period.” Commissioner Riley continued to make weekly updates that were easily accessible on the DoE website and stayed involved in monitoring decisions.
While planning for reopening for the 2020-21 school year, the state education department has communicated weekly with school leaders from all public and private schools and convened a working group to develop a plan. They released an initial guidance on returning to school in late June, and required all districts to develop three plans: in-person with new safety measure, a hybrid of in-person and virtual, and a virtual-only model.
Fast Facts
4th Grade Math Proficiency:
8th Grade Math Proficiency:
12th Grade Math Proficiency:
4th Grade Reading Proficiency:
8th Grade Reading Proficiency:
12th Grade Reading Proficiency:
Graduation Rate:
Average SAT Score:
Average ACT Score:
Public School Enrollment:
Percent Enrolled in Charter Schools:
Average Student Funding:
Score:
Grade:
C
Rank:
#31
Massachusetts does not require individual technology plans, but expects schools to incorporate educational technology into their existing school improvement & funding plans. Massachusetts adopted Digital Literacy and Computer Science Standards to prepare students for critical workforce needs.
Massachusetts DOE provides free digital learning resources for both teachers and students; students have access to resources such as the 3D printing program SketchUp. Teachers have the opportunity to take professional development courses with the eLearning system.
The state currently has two K-12 virtual schools that are open to public school students. Massachusetts lawmakers established the Digital Learning Advisory Council to assist the DOE board of directors and commissioner to advise how the state implements digital education and create policies for virtual schools.
Bandwidth: “97.2% of students in Massachusetts can access the Internet at speeds of 100 kbps per student, and many students are connected at higher speeds. But there is still work to be done. 24,684 students still need more bandwidth for digital learning.”
Massachusetts’ Innovation School Initiative allows districts to create autonomous schools that have flexibility and freedom for increased creativity in areas such as curriculum, budget, school calendar, and staffing policies.
The state also has the Massachusetts Personalized Learning Edtech Consortium (MAPLE) which is a part of the New England Secondary Schools Consortium (NESSC) to further expand personalized learning opportunities for students.
In 2016, The Center for Collaborative Education created the Massachusetts Personalized Learning Network, which partners with district leaders, principals, and educators across the state to design personalized learning programs in their schools.
On Wednesday, March 25, Governor Baker announced that schools would remain closed until at least Monday, May 4, and the following day, DESE released remote learning recommendations. Districts were encouraged to develop remote learning plans with guidance on how to make them the most useful for their students and while many districts followed these guidelines and ensured continued instruction for all students, not all did. In Boston, the teachers’ union negotiated a four day work week, and teachers were not allowed to be required to do anything on video.
Education Commissioner Jeff Riley wrote on March 26th: “We must all pull together to help students continue their learning over this extended period.” Commissioner Riley continued to make weekly updates that were easily accessible on the DoE website and stayed involved in monitoring decisions.
While planning for reopening for the 2020-21 school year, the state education department has communicated weekly with school leaders from all public and private schools and convened a working group to develop a plan. They released an initial guidance on returning to school in late June, and required all districts to develop three plans: in-person with new safety measure, a hybrid of in-person and virtual, and a virtual-only model.
4th Grade Math Proficiency:
8th Grade Math Proficiency:
12th Grade Math Proficiency:
4th Grade Reading Proficiency:
8th Grade Reading Proficiency:
12th Grade Reading Proficiency:
Graduation Rate:
Average SAT Score:
Average ACT Score:
Public School Enrollment:
Percent Enrolled in Charter Schools:
Average Student Funding:
Maura Healey (D)
First term begins in 2023 (no term limit)
Your Governor: Governor-elect Maura Healey is a believer that money for public schools is the key to improving them. The two-term attorney general turned Governor opposed a 2016 ballot measure that would have shifted millions of dollars from public schools, by expanding the number of charter schools in the state. The MTA, which is the state’s largest educators union with roughly 117,000 members, endorsed Healey in the governor’s race during the campaign. With public school enrollment dropping by 14% in Massachusetts over the past five years, leadership must take a look at how to better serve parents, opting for an alternative.
Despite having some of the best charter schools in the country and many highly selective schools of choice that pick and choose their kids, the Commonwealth’s legislature has dug in its heels against opening up more options. The state’s constitution has strict language that has been interpreted as being prohibitive of private school choice options.
“The Massachusetts Constitution contains an extremely restrictive Blaine Amendment. The Massachusetts Supreme Court has interpreted that Blaine Amendment broadly and allowed public funds to flow to private school students only under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and for transportation.” (Institute for Justice)
Massachusetts provides crisp and transparent school data. School and district report cards are easily accessible from Massachusetts DOE homepage under the Data and Accountability subheading. Report cards are filled with important data for parents, and are easy to navigate and understand. Additionally, educational options are easy to find from the DOE homepage which further increases transparency in the state.
School board elections are not held during the general election cycle, which usually means lower voter turnout.
Maura Healey (D)
First term begins in 2023 (no term limit)
Your Governor: Governor-elect Maura Healey is a believer that money for public schools is the key to improving them. The two-term attorney general turned Governor opposed a 2016 ballot measure that would have shifted millions of dollars from public schools, by expanding the number of charter schools in the state. The MTA, which is the state’s largest educators union with roughly 117,000 members, endorsed Healey in the governor’s race during the campaign. With public school enrollment dropping by 14% in Massachusetts over the past five years, leadership must take a look at how to better serve parents, opting for an alternative.
Despite having some of the best charter schools in the country and many highly selective schools of choice that pick and choose their kids, the Commonwealth’s legislature has dug in its heels against opening up more options. The state’s constitution has strict language that has been interpreted as being prohibitive of private school choice options.
“The Massachusetts Constitution contains an extremely restrictive Blaine Amendment. The Massachusetts Supreme Court has interpreted that Blaine Amendment broadly and allowed public funds to flow to private school students only under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and for transportation.” (Institute for Justice)
Massachusetts provides crisp and transparent school data. School and district report cards are easily accessible from Massachusetts DOE homepage under the Data and Accountability subheading. Report cards are filled with important data for parents, and are easy to navigate and understand. Additionally, educational options are easy to find from the DOE homepage which further increases transparency in the state.
School board elections are not held during the general election cycle, which usually means lower voter turnout.