The Truth: MCAS and Everett

For quite some time now, the public relations machine has been painting the school system of Everett as one of the best in the state. This is achieved by focusing solely on the "pass rate", instead of the actual scores. Of late, a school committee member has reiterated that "Everett is the best "blue collar" school system in the state." That too, may be debatable.

Boston.com, a local news and information site for the Boston Globe, has complete MCAS scores and rankings for most school districts. In 2003, Everett ranked 183rd out of 210 districts! Everett was behind such blue collar communities as Rockland, Quincy and Pittsfield. Tied with Revere, according to the ranking profile, only 40% of Everett's school children are ranked as "Advanced" or "Proficient", leaving 60% as either "needing improvement" or "failing." Of note is North Reading, ranked 8th, which is one of the lowest spenders in the state.

2003 MCAS Results

Another thing that you probably won't see reported is that two of Everett's schools are actually on the federal "needs improvement" list. Reported in the Boston Globe last week, "The Leave No Child Behind Act" listed hundreds of Bay State schools, including Everett. Just click on the link, which takes you to the Department of Education website; then click on "list of schools and districts identified as needing improvement."

School and District Accountability

Interestingly enough, while the school department and the Ragucci administration are at odds over the half million dollars in overspending at the schools - Attorney General Thomas Reilly has publicly stated in court documents that you can't just throw money at the problem of underperforming schools. While Everett is not one of the communities that have sued the state over school funding, the school department has been very vocal about the need for more funding from the city (which means local taxpayers), despite years of reduced or level state aid. Late last year, the school department requested an additional two million dollars, even though the city had met its net school spending obligation, an amount set by the state.

State says throwing money at education won't solve problems