zeitgeist you cannot compare the urban districts to the rural and suburban areas of MA. The students in my district are bright to exceptionally bright for the most part. Our demographics are very small % of minorities and free lunch (which means we qualify for nada nothing in the grant department). Good teachers, kids come from two parent homes, with parents very involved and supportive of their schools. You will find this in most of the suburbs of the state.
That all said, you can't completely discount the socioeconomic factor for some of these students in the urban districts. Homeless, parents are gang bangers, abused, neglected. Public education hasn't determined a way to effectively teach students who are dealing with these type of issues at home, and who knows if they ever will. I have friends and family who try to teach these kids -- however, most of the teachers assigned to these schools aren't exactly what would be considered the best in education.
There is no need to fix MCAS. The need is for schools districts to know how to analyze the data received from these assessments, and to focus more on literacy -- reading/writing is the key to all areas of instruction.
How the hell do you motivate a child to learn who probably went to bed about 2 a.m., hungry, after experiencing God knows what from their POS parent, or guardians? You don't, or if you do it is because of a truly gifted teacher who found a way. We just don't have enough of those and until we do these assessments are going to have that cohort of students who aren't making the cut, in any way, shape or form.
