Study: Signs of Progress at Madison Park, but Still a Long Way to Go

Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on
LinkedIn
+

New Pioneer report reviews enrollment, graduation, and absenteeism rates as well as academic performance, at Boston’s only vocational-technical school

BOSTON – Four years after it began to implement a turnaround plan, Boston’s Madison Park Technical Vocational High School is showing clear signs of progress, but its performance continues to lag behind that of other vocational-technical schools in Massachusetts, according to a new study published by Pioneer Institute.

“Madison Park is improving,” said Jamie Gass, Pioneer’s director of education research and policy.  “But a great deal of additional work and leadership from the state and district will be needed for the school to effectively prepare students for both careers and post-secondary education.”

Madison Park was designated as a Level 4, or “underperforming,” school by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) in December 2015.  School officials developed a turnaround plan, which began to be implemented in June 2016.

In “Madison Park Technical Vocational High School Turnaround Update,” author William Donovan reports that the school had for a period suffered from unstable leadership.

Kevin McCaskill has been serving as executive director of the school for the past five years, but has taken a position in the Boston Public Schools (BPS) central office. Though he remains as executive director and interim headmaster at Madison Park, this change raises questions about succession and the future stability of leadership at the school.

There are also questions about BPS’ commitment to Madison Park. The BPS has urged that vocational programs be offered at 22 other city high schools. The programs often duplicate those offered at Madison Park and depress enrollment at the school.

Performance on several metrics has improved during the turnaround.  Madison Park’s graduation rate has risen from 57 percent in 2017 to 68 percent last year.  During that time the dropout rate fell from over 6 percent to less than 5 percent.

During the 2018-19 school year the chronic absenteeism rate (students who miss school at least 10 percent of the time) was 47 percent.  The following year it fell to 32 percent.

Madison Park’s enrollment declined by about half between 2005 and 2017, but has climbed by 17 percent over the last three years.

Despite these encouraging signs, Madison Park is still behind other Massachusetts vocational-technical schools academically.  Its MCAS scores rank at or near the bottom in all categories and it remains the worst performer in terms of graduation and dropout rates.

Madison Park faces demographic challenges.  During the 2019-20 school year, 92 percent of its 1,021 students were classified as “high needs” and 94 percent were students of color. According to 2018-2019 academic year data, about 73 percent were economically disadvantaged, the highest of any voc-tech school in Massachusetts.  Just over 30 percent of its students had disabilities and about 35 percent were English language learners.

Comparing Madison Park to two of the highest performing regional vocational technical schools, 0.2 percent of the students at Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School in Upton are English language learners and more than 78 percent of the students at Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School in Marlborough are white.

A 2018 report from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, a regional accreditation association, found that expenditures at Madison Park were less than all but one of eight comparable voc-techs in the region, and per-pupil spending was more than 20 percent below the average of the eight.

As the Lynn Vocational Technical Institute (LVTI) demonstrates, turnarounds are possible at high-need vocational technical high schools. LVTI’s student body was only slightly less challenged than Madison Park’s.

Kevin McCaskill leads the Madison Park turnaround and led one at the Roger L. Putnam Vocational Technical Academy in Springfield. While at Madison Park, he has instituted several new programs.

“MCAS Bootcamp” strengthens students’ English, math and science skills in preparation for state exams.  English and math results have been mixed, but the percentage of students scoring “Proficient” in science has more than doubled and the percentage in the “Needs Improvement” category has fallen.

“RoxMAPP” allows students in grades 10-12 to earn college credits while still in high school.  Since the 2014-15 school year, the number of students participating in the program has risen from 15 to 83 and total credits earned have jumped from 45 to 716.  Two students have earned associate’s degrees before graduating from Madison Park.

Among Donovan’s recommendations are that Madison Park be granted more autonomy.  He calls for the school to become an independent district with its own school committee, as is the case with most successful vocational-technical schools in Massachusetts.

Until such autonomy can be achieved, it’s important that the BPS superintendent be a champion for the school.  Support from the top was critical to the Lynn Vocational Technical Institute turnaround.  Related to that, Madison Park must obtain resources to hire the personnel who can address the unique needs of the school’s student body.

Donovan also recommends that Madison Park continue to expand early college options.  Under RoxMAPP, Madison Park partners with Bunker Hill Community College, Roxbury Community College, Wentworth Institute of Technology, and Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology.  The program has been a resounding success and should be expanded to include other local colleges.

Finally, the Boston School Committee should approve a new admissions policy that has already been approved by the DESE.  The policy is similar to that used by other Massachusetts voc-techs and would ensure that students enrolled at Madison Park are those who want to take advantage of the opportunities offered by career vocational technical education.

About the Author

William Donovan is a former staff writer with the Providence Journal in Rhode Island where he wrote about business and government. He has taught business journalism in the graduate programs at Boston University and Northeastern University. He received his undergraduate degree from Boston College and his master’s degree in journalism from American University in Washington, D.C.

About Pioneer

Mission

Pioneer Institute develops and communicates dynamic ideas that advance prosperity and a vibrant civic life in Massachusetts and beyond.

Vision

Success for Pioneer is when the citizens of our state and nation prosper and our society thrives because we enjoy world-class options in education, healthcare, transportation and economic opportunity, and when our government is limited, accountable and transparent.

Values

Pioneer believes that America is at its best when our citizenry is well-educated, committed to liberty, personal responsibility, and free enterprise, and both willing and able to test their beliefs based on facts and the free exchange of ideas.

Get Updates on Our Education Research

Related Posts

Madison Park II: Capitalizing on Employment Opportunity

This report reviews the co-operative education program at Boston’s Madison Park Technical Vocational High School, which places students in paid positions with local employers. The study finds that the program lags far behind other Massachusetts vocational-technical schools in terms of both placements and number of employer contacts.  But with the school as a whole beginning to improve after years of turmoil, the co-op is also showing promising signs.

Key Madison Park Program Lags Other State Voc-Techs, but Shows Signs of Improvement

The co-operative education program at Boston’s Madison Park Technical Vocational High School, which places students in paid positions with local employers, lags far behind other Massachusetts vocational-technical schools in terms of both placements and number of employer contacts.  But with the school as a whole beginning to improve after years of turmoil, the co-op is also showing promising signs, according to a new study published by Pioneer Institute.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali, International Best-Selling Author & Human Rights Activist

/
This week on “The Learning Curve," Gerard and Cara talk with Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution, founder of the AHA Foundation, and author of the books Prey: Immigration, Islam, and the Erosion of Women's Rights, Infidel: My Life, and Nomad: From Islam to America - A Personal Journey Through the Clash of Civilizations. 

WSJ Drama Editor Terry Teachout on Jazz Greats Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington

This week on “The Learning Curve," Gerard and guest co-host Kerry McDonald continue our celebration of Black achievements with Terry Teachout, drama critic at The Wall Street Journal, and author of such books as Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong and Duke: A Life of Duke Ellington.

UGA Prof. Valerie Boyd on Zora Neale Hurston, the Harlem Renaissance, & Black History Month

/
This week on “The Learning Curve," Cara and Gerard celebrate Black History Month with Professor Valerie Boyd, the Charlayne Hunter-Gault Distinguished Writer in Residence and Associate Professor of Journalism at the University of Georgia, and the definitive biographer of Zora Neale Hurston. Boyd discusses why Hurston is such an important novelist and cultural figure, and the influence of Hurston’s 1937 classic novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, on American literature.

Boston Catholic Schools Supt. Tom Carroll on National Catholic Schools Week

/
This week on “The Learning Curve," Cara and Gerard celebrate National Catholic Schools Week with Tom Carroll, superintendent of schools for the Archdiocese of Boston. He shares his view of the value that Catholic schools add; the reasons for their success at improving student outcomes and creating a sense of community; and their commitment to serving children from underprivileged backgrounds, regardless of religious affiliation. 

AZ Supreme Court Justice Clint Bolick on National School Choice Week

/
This week on “The Learning Curve," Cara and Gerard kick off National School Choice Week with Arizona Supreme Court Justice Clint Bolick, co-author with Kate Hardiman of a new book, Unshackled: Freeing America’s K–12 Education System. Justice Bolick shares his experiences serving on a state supreme court, and how it has shaped his understanding of America’s legal system.

New Book Offers Roadmap to Sustainability for Massachusetts Catholic Schools

Catholic schools in Massachusetts must focus on the characteristics that make them academically successful and distinguish them from traditional public schools, but must also seek new models and governance structures that will help them achieve financial sustainability, according to a new book published by Pioneer Institute. The book, "A Vision of Hope: Catholic Schooling in Massachusetts," will be the topic of a webinar co-sponsored by Pioneer and the Catholic Schools Foundation to be held on Wednesday, January 27 at 2:00 pm. 

Pulitzer Winner Taylor Branch on MLK, Civil Rights History, & Race in America

/
This week on “The Learning Curve," Cara and Gerard are joined by Taylor Branch, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of a landmark trilogy on the Civil Rights era, America in the King Years. They discuss the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, whose birthday the nation observed on Monday. They review Dr. King’s powerful, moving oratory, drawing on spiritual and civic ideals to promote nonviolent protest against racial injustice, and how, as head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, he shared leadership of the movement with organizations such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.

Ignat Solzhenitsyn on His Father’s Nobel Prize-Winning Fight with Communism

/
This week on “The Learning Curve," Cara and Gerard talk with Ignat Solzhenitsyn, a pianist, conductor laureate of the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, principal guest conductor of the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, and son of the Nobel Prize-winning Russian writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. They discuss his father’s legacy, his courageous work to debunk the Soviet Union’s utopian myths, and key lessons American educators and students should draw from his life, writings, and battle with Soviet communism.

Eva Moskowitz of Success Academy on Charter Schools, Achievement Gaps, & COVID-19 Learning Loss

/
This week on “The Learning Curve," Cara and Gerard kick off the new year with Eva Moskowitz, CEO & Founder of Success Academy Charter Schools, a network of 47 schools enrolling 20,000 K-12 students in New York City. Eva shares her own education path, and how it influences her leadership and philosophy.

USED Asst. Sec. Jim Blew Talks Sec. DeVos, School Choice, & K-12 Politics

/
This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard are joined by Jim Blew, the assistant secretary for planning, evaluation, and policy development at the U.S. Department of Education. Assistant Secretary Blew shares lessons from leading and implementing K-12 public education reform efforts in often contentious policy environments, and the unique challenges of the current partisanship and gridlock in Washington, D.C.

New Study Provides Toolkit for Crafting Education Tax-Credit Scholarship Programs

In the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down a key impediment to private school choice, Pioneer Institute has published a toolkit for designing tax-credit scholarship programs. Now available in 18 states, nearly 300,000 students nationwide use tax-credit scholarships to attend the school of their family’s choice. TCS policies create an incentive for taxpayers to contribute to nonprofit scholarship organizations that aid families with tuition and, in some states, other K–12 educational expenses. This paper explores the central design features of TCS policies—such as eligibility, the tax credit value, credit caps, and academic accountability provisions—and outlines the different approaches taken by the TCS policies in each state.

Oxford & UCLA Pulitzer Winner Prof. Daniel Walker Howe on Horace Mann, Common Schools, & Educating for Democracy

/
This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard are joined by Daniel Walker Howe, Rhodes Professor of American History Emeritus at Oxford University in England and Professor of History Emeritus at UCLA. Drawing from his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848, he provides background information on Horace Mann, the first secretary of the Massachusetts State Board of Education, founder of the common school movement in public education, and a prominent abolitionist in Congress.

Stanford’s Prof. Caroline Hoxby on Charter Schools, K-12 Ed Reform, & Global Competitiveness

/
This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard are joined by Caroline Hoxby, the Scott and Donya Bommer Professor of Economics at Stanford University and a Senior Fellow of the Hoover Institution.

SABIS® President Carl Bistany on International Education, Charter Public Schools, & At-Risk Students

/
This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard are joined by Carl Bistany, the president of SABIS® Educational Systems, an education company founded over 130 years ago that serves young women in the Middle East, and poor and minority students in the U.S.

UConn’s Prof. Wayne Franklin on James Fenimore Cooper, The Last of the Mohicans, & American Democracy

/
This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard are joined by Wayne Franklin, professor of English at the University of Connecticut and definitive biographer of the American literary figure James Fenimore Cooper. As we celebrate Native American Heritage Month, Prof. Franklin reviews Cooper's background and major works, especially the "Leatherstocking Tales," including The Last of the Mohicans, which are distinguished for their enlightened and sympathetic portrayal of the disappearing tribes.

Wall Street Journal Columnist Jason Riley on the 2020 Election, School Choice, & Race in America

/
This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard are joined by Jason Riley, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and columnist for The Wall Street Journal. Jason shares insights on the 2020 election, its implications for the next two years, and assuming Vice President Biden becomes president, how he may govern on K-12 education.

Nationally Recognized Author Tara Ross on the Importance of the Electoral College

This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard are joined by Tara Ross, the nationally recognized author of Why We Need the Electoral College. On the eve of the 2020 election, they discuss the critical and controversial role of the Electoral College in determining which candidate will become the next President of the United States.

Pulitzer-Winning Author Stacy Schiff on the Salem Witch Trials

In our special Halloween edition of “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard are joined by Pulitzer-Prize winner Stacy Schiff, whose most recent book is The Witches: Salem, 1692. They discuss why, in Schiff’s view, the Salem witch trials are the “the best known, least understood chapter” of American history, and why the trials, false charges, and finger pointing, remain relevant today in our Internet culture.