Attending Newton South High School in Massachusetts, I had access to over 100 clubs and activities, a wide array of AP and honors courses, and an on-site college counselor. 98.4% of students graduated in the past year, and 88% met or exceeded expectations on the statewide MCAS English Language Arts exams (Massachusetts Department of Education). Many of my classmates in the class of 2021 now attend prestigious colleges and universities across the country (including every Ivy League university). Most students come from middle-class professional families, and only 12% identify as low-income.
Less than four miles away at English High School in Boston, 97% of students identify as people of color and 83% are low-income. Only 18% of students met or exceeded expectations on the MCAS ELA exam, and just 79.1% graduated (Massachusetts Department of Education). While the disparities between these schools may be shocking, they are far from rare. These two schools are a microcosm of the racial and socioeconomic inequities that persist in education across the United States. To understand these inequities, we must examine the impact of segregation, racism, and funding on the American education system.
The History of Educational Segregation and Achievement Gaps in the Boston Area
When busing between predominantly white and Black schools in Boston began in the 1970s, white families began to rapidly leave the city. This left Boston Public Schools (BPS) underfunded and with a predominantly low-income Black and Hispanic student body (The Atlantic). To this day, middle-class families like mine, most of whom are white, move to suburbs like Newton where their children can attend highly-rated schools. Furthermore, BPS students that score highly on entrance exams before either 7th or 9th grade are placed into magnet schools, the most notable being the prestigious Boston Latin School, which, although more diverse than most suburban schools, has a significantly whiter and wealthier student population than BPS as a whole (Massachusetts Department of Education). This concentrates lower-achieving students in non-magnet schools like English, which may become even more neglected and underfunded than they would be otherwise.
While disparities in education may be especially pronounced in Greater Boston, they are far from unique to the area. Schools around the country are funded by property taxes, giving wealthier districts like Newton access to more resources (Walters, 2001, p. 40). These schools can pay teachers more, sponsor numerous clubs and sports, and build better facilities. Consequently, wealthier schools are typically rated higher than low-income schools, and families with the means to do so move into their districts. This creates a cycle in which schools gain resources and status through wealth, and only the wealthy can afford highly-rated schools. In many cases these patterns also reinforce segregation, as members of historically marginalized Black and Hispanic communities are forced to remain in underfunded, poorly rated inner city schools (Walters, 2001, p. 45).
Additionally, individual middle-class families often provide children with resources and opportunities that facilitate academic achievement. Wealthier, better-educated parents generally seek to perpetuate their family’s socioeconomic status across generations through education. To do this, they give their children access to tutoring, technology, and study spaces, all of which are associated with educational success (Gamoran, 2001, p. 143). From a young age, middle-class parents often raise their children using the “concerted cultivation” method, which emphasizes structured activities and development of potential talents (Lareau, 2003). This strategy is designed to set children up for academic (and eventually professional) success. In high school, while low-income students often have to work long hours at jobs to support their families, wealthier students participate in numerous extracurriculars that are viewed favorably in college applications and may also enhance academic achievement (Gamoran, 144).
Potential for Educational Reform
There is no easy solution to educational inequality. In the Boston area, one remedy has been the METCO program, which sends students of color from inner city areas of Boston to suburban schools like Newton South (Boston Globe). While this program has given many lower-income students access to better educational opportunities and resources, it does little to address the underlying issues of school funding and residential segregation that make such a program necessary. Another idea, which has been used in Hartford, Connecticut, is specialized “Open Choice” magnet schools which can be attended by students in both the city and the suburbs (Boston Globe). In Hartford, these schools have provided urban students increased access to resources and had a significant effect on their standardized test scores. Although there is no quick fix to disparities in education at the moment, it is clear that American society needs to make changes to ensure equality of opportunity for all students.
Works Cited
“School and District Profiles, 2021-22.” . https://profiles.doe.mass.edu/.
Delmont, Matthew. “The Lasting Legacy of the Busing Crisis.” . https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/03/the-boston-busing-crisis-was-never-intended-to-work/474264/.
Gamoran, Adam. “American Schooling and Educational Inequality: A Forecast for the 21st Century.” Sociology of Education 74, (2001): 135-153. doi:10.2307/2673258. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2673258.
Lareau, Annette. Unequal Childhoods University of California Press, 2011.
Scharfenberg, David. “The Only Way to Fix Boston Schools Once and for All.” Mar 18, 2022. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/03/18/opinion/only-way-fix-boston-schools-once-all/.
Walters, Pamela Barnhouse. “Educational Access and the State: Historical Continuities and Discontinuities in Racial Inequality in American Education.” Sociology of Education 74, (2001): 35-49. doi:10.2307/2673252. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2673252.
Images:
“The English High School.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_English_High_School.
“Newton South High School.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newton_South_High_School.
