WORCESTER – School Committee members on Thursday were encouraged by the district’s latest graduation and dropout rate improvements, in particular by the better results for the system’s English language learners.
School officials consequently floated the theory that ELLs’ success stemmed in part from the state’s sidelining of the MCAS graduation requirement for those students last spring because of the pandemic.
Committee member Tracy O’Connell Novick moved for the district to formally testify to the state that Worcester’s improved ELL graduation and dropout rates speak to the “artificial barrier” created by the MCAS, and that those students would be better served by a different evaluation to determine their readiness to leave school.
Fewer English Language Learners dropped out in Worcester in 2020, possibly because of MCAS flexibilities
Updated Apr 09, 2021;
Members of the Worcester School Committee are examining whether MCAS may be a graduation barrier for English Language Learners based on new graduation and dropout rate data.
In 2020, the city saw a decrease in the number of ELL students who dropped out, which happened during the COVID-19 pandemic led the state to offer flexibilities regarding MCAS and competency determinations to graduate.
In general, Worcester has a lower dropout rate compared to other urban cities in Massachusetts. However, Worcester Public Schools officials in explaining the data during a school committee meeting on Thursday night noted that it’s hard to compare 2020 graduation and dropout data to years prior because the pandemic caused major academic disruptions.