Report: Troubled schools need funding
Lowell Sun
April 23, 2005
A new report by a Boston think tank says the state could significantly help low-achieving schools and districts by shaking up the Department of Education and spending more money intervening in troubled schools.
The report, Reaching Capacity: A Blueprint for the State Role in Improving Low Performing Schools and Districts, was released by the Rennie Center for Educational Policy at the Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth.
The report calls for the state to invest $43 million to help schools turn themselves around, including hiring consultants and developing improvement plans.
In addition, the report calls for more tools to track students' progress in real time, noting that the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System tests students only annually.
There are 376 individual schools and 132 districts that have made inadequate progress on the MCAS over two or more years, the report noted.
The report was based on dozens of interviews with principals and superintendents.