A Look at the Condition of Education in Massachusetts

Autor/in	d'Entremont, Chad
Titel	A Look at the Condition of Education in Massachusetts
Quelle	In: New England Journal of Higher Education, (2014) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1938-5978
Schlagwörter	Higher Education; Public Colleges; Educational Change; Educational Policy; Financial Support; State Legislation; Elementary Secondary Education; State Standards; Accountability; Academic Achievement; Career Readiness; College Readiness; Massachusetts + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Hochschulbildung; Hochschulsystem; Hochschulwesen; Bildungsreform; Politics of education; Bildungspolitik; Finanzielle Förderung; Landesrecht; Verantwortung; Schulleistung; Master-Studiengang
Abstract	Leaders engaged in Massachusetts' public higher education system--including at community colleges, state universities, and UMass--have demonstrated their strong commitment to improvement in recent years. The state Department of Higher Education's Vision Project is focused on reforms necessary to "produce the best educated citizenry and workers in the nation," and demonstrates a clear willingness to examine and address both the state's strengths and deficits. This work is augmented by policy initiatives, such as the establishment of a unified system of community colleges with annual performance measures, which represent significant steps forward in advancing the quality and rigor of the Commonwealth's public higher education system. Massachusetts is one of a small group of states to implement this type of funding formula, and Governor Deval Patrick has demonstrated his intention in his FY 2015 budget proposal to continue support for community colleges, through including an additional $13.2 million in funding. However, at the postsecondary level, Massachusetts is still playing catch-up. This past year marked the 20th anniversary of the "Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993" (MERA), which sought to improve the state's K-12 system through heightened standards and accountability and increased school funding. Policymakers, practitioners and business leaders have begun to realize that high academic achievement prior to high school graduation is necessary, but not sufficient to ensure that all students are prepared to enter the workforce and achieve lifelong success. Policy solutions must move beyond the limitations of a K-12 perspective. This article briefly describes a starting point for determining how to approach these new challenges and opportunities: the Rennie Center's "Condition of Education in the Commonwealth: 2013 Data Report." With the Center's "Condition of Education in the Commonwealth" project, the hope is to create a platform for talking openly about the current status of the entire Massachusetts education system and where to best leverage new investments. (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	New England Board of Higher Education. 45 Temple Place, Boston, MA 02111. Tel: 617-357-9620; Fax: 617-338-1577; e-mail: info@nebhe.org; Web site: http://www.nebhe.org
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10