From reading headlines and stories across the state, one would think the “M” in MCAS stands for “mixed.”
The state released the results of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System exams this week and it seems editors and reporters didn’t delve too deeply into the dictionary to report the results.
“Mixed MCAS report card for area districts,” reads the headline in the Sentinel and Enterprise.
“MCAS results are mixed for county,” declares the Berkshire Eagle.
“MCAS results mixed throughout the region,” says the front page of the MetroWest Daily News.
“A mixed bag of MCAS scores for local school districts,” The Patriot Ledger informs readers.
You get the picture. MCAS, as most everyone knows, is the result of the 1993 Education Reform Act that vowed to lift all boats and show parents (read: taxpayers) they were getting a bang for their buck.
It has, through the years, become a lightning rod, with educators saying it crimps their abilities to teach because the focus is on the test, while parents and school officials demand constant improvement as the results are issued. Yesterday’s results showed almost two-thirds of Massachusetts schools are lagging behind new performance targets that were set by the state to be more realistic than those of the federal No Child Left Behind law.
When it comes to education in Massachusetts, there is arguably nothing, except budgets, that receive as much attention as the MCAS results. Which is why nearly every newspaper and television station blows out space for coverage in their areas and why editors are always looking for ways to quantify and rank the results.
The results guide young families who are looking to buy a home; the results can raise property values and draw business; and most of all, the results justify to officials and taxpayers that budgets going to the schools is money well spent.
The problem with the rankings, though, is that they all use different approaches to the raw data. The state does not rank districts and schools by scores, so every media outlet that does set up rankings does it by their own formula. The Globe, for instance, adds together the percentage of those who achieve advanced and proficient, with 100 being the top score. Boston magazine, which issues an annual ranking for the area’s best schools based in large part on MCAS scores, takes the mean scores from each category then ranks the schools based on a weighted average of the data point difference from the mean.
The Boston Herald, like other outlets, used to use a formula that added the total scores of the English and math exams for each grade then averaged the scores to develop the rank. They no longer do that, instead simply linking to the results page for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
GateHouse Media newspapers on the Wicked Local sites have what is probably the most helpful guide: A definition of the five-level accountability system that classifies performance accompanied by a town-by-town chart and what level the district was classified.
Everyone wants to know where their children and their schools rank, so it’s understandable that many in the media try to meet that demand. But relying on a mix of different formulas to arrive at the rankings can only lead to similarly mixed messages.
–JACK SULLIVAN
BEACON HILL
The Massachusetts unemployment rate rises to 6.3 percent, as the economy loses 4,800 jobs, the Globe reports.
The state Ethics Commission now says it will get the word out about the nepotism aspects of the new ethics law, the Herald reports.
The commander of the Massachusetts National Guard is resigning in the wake of a finding that he indecently assaulted a female subordinate in an incident 28 years ago. No criminal charges will be filed against Joseph Carter because the statute of limitations on the alleged crime has expired.
MUNICIPAL MATTERS
Beverly Mayor Bill Scanlon proposes buying the town’s street lights from National Grid, a move he says would save about $200,000 a year, the Salem News reports.
Four of nine Lawrence city councilors call for an indicted police officer’s pay to be suspended in compliance with the law, the Eagle-Tribune reports.
Former Boston city councilor Bruce Bolling is remembered.
CASINOS
KG Urban Enterprises, which is suing to overturn the tribal set-aside in the state’s casino law, made its pitch for a casino in New Bedford yesterday, vowing to rehab old waterfront property rather than building a Las Vegas-style complex. Meanwhile, lawyers for the developer tried to throw out an attempt by the Aquinnah Wampanoag tribe to intervene in the suit in federal court.
Plainridge Racecourse, which is seeking a license for slot machines, alleges defamation by a commenter on an anti-gambling website, the Attleboro Sun Chronicle reports. The track is suing the owner of the website.
NATIONAL POLITICS/WASHINGTON
New Census data indicate the income inequality gap widened in 20 states, including Massachusetts, between 2010 and 2011, Governing reports.
In an editorial, the Wall Street Journal says the president’s welfare waiver program is worse than Mitt Romney says.
The Chicago teachers strike is over, but will more Democrats take on unions on policy reforms asks The Daily Beast. The Wall Street Journal reports that the school district’s pension issues are compounded by the new teachers’ contract.
If Massachusetts voters approve the physician-assisted suicide question on the ballot, it could pave the way for many more states to adopt the law, says Greg Pfundstein in the National Review.
The Wall Street Journal reports on the effects of recent stimulus efforts by the world’s central banks.
ELECTION 2012
Joseph Kennedy III has agreed to three debates in the Fourth Congressional District, including one sponsored by MassINC, but GOP candidate Sean Bielat wants four or five more.
WBUR analyzes the health care positions of Sen. Scott Brown and Elizabeth Warren. The two debate tonight on WBZ-TV. The Globe previews tonight’s face-off. Warren, meanwhile, will debate herself at a New England Conference forum after Brown finally turns down an invitation to talk about issues pertinent to communities of color at the Roxbury event.
The Boston Herald, citing a new poll from UMass Lowell, says Brown is up 6 points, but that’s among registered voters. The Globe focuses on the poll’s finding among the smaller group of likely voters, where Brown is up by 4. The poll indicates the incumbent Republican is winning support among some Democratic voters . The poll also shows Mitt Romney with a 60 percent unfavorable rating.
The Globe’s Matt Viser looks at Romney’s propensity, despite a reputation for being stiff and programmed, to stick his foot in his mouth.
Robert Costa at the National Review has a piece on how the presidential campaign looks from Mitt Romney’s Boston headquarters.
Keller@Large posits all the hyper-partisan hyperventilating in the presidential race doesn’t matter until the debates begins.
The New York Times highlights an up-for-grabs voting bloc: young people who are not college educated.
Slate rounds up all the conservative commentary telling Mitt Romney to stick with his 47 percent argument.
A Republican takeover of the US Senate is growing less likely, according to some analysts.
BUSINESS/ECONOMY
Verizon and its unions reach a tentative deal that will keep 800 jobs in the Merrimack Valley, the Lowell Sun reports.
Scallopers in the region, already reeling, are now facing a 30 percent reduction in their catch quotas each of the next two years because of a drop in full-grown scallops for harvest.
EDUCATION
A new report issued by the state’s Board of Higher Education says many students enrolling in public higher education institutions in Massachusetts are ill-prepared for the rigors of college-level academics.
The Lowell Sun runs a special section on the transformation of UMass Lowell (and Lowell) under Chancellor Marty Meehan.
TRANSPORTATION
The Obama administration gives initial approval to a high-speed bullet train between Los Angeles and San Francisco, the Los Angeles Times reports.
ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT
The Cape Cod Times wants to see federal tax credits for wind energy extended. They are set to expire at the end of this year.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Bristol District Attorney Sam Sutter says the scandal at the state crime lab could affect 3,500 to 4,000 cases his office prosecuted.
MEDIA
UMass Boston political scientist Maurice Cunningham critiques Dan Payne’s WBUR analysis of the Brown-Warren race.
The Boston Phoenix newspaper becomes a glossy magazine known as the Phoenix today. Its website also gets a refresh.
Monica Lewinsky is set to write a tell-all book revealing Bill Clinton’s sexual predilections, the New York Post reports.
John Henry is preaching rebuilding with the Boston Red Sox and with Liverpool soccer, too, the Wall Street Journal reports.