For middle school students in Massachusetts, getting into certain trade schools is easier said than done. It can end up being a highly-competitive process, leaving all but high-performing students at a disadvantage, advocates for admissions reform say. The state’s education department is looking to change that, though not everyone’s happy with what has been approved.
For the past few months, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has been moving toward overhauling how students can get their foot in the door of local trade schools.
As the Boston Globe reports, interest in vocational schools has gone up, with vocational school enrollment nearing 36,000 in 2023, - 1 in 8 high school students. And as the CommonWealth Beacon reports, that means thousands of eighth-graders come up short when applying; 40 percent of 20,000 applicants were rejected in 2023 alone.
Advocates say grades can make all the difference, leaving disadvantaged students in the lurch. It’s what motivated DESE to put forward changes earlier this year - ultimately approved by the state’s Education Board this week.
“DESE is committed to all students having equitable access to career technical education, and the proposed regulatory changes are designed to advance that goal,” he said during a board meeting Tuesday. “We want a future where every student has a chance to discover their strengths, follow their interests and build a meaningful path forward. I believe that what is proposed moves us in that direction.”
Those proposals, introduced in March and tweaked based on public comment, include admissions lotteries for schools with more applicants than available seats, effective this fall.
“If schools decide to use the maximum amount of criteria afforded in this May-version of the regulations, students could have four opportunities in the lottery,” Tutwiler continued, listing new admissions criteria. “One for a completed application that includes student awareness as a required component, one for student interest, one for attendance and one for discipline.”
Praise for moves toward equity
Before the board approved the changes, 8-2, said proposals had their fair share of proponents and opponents during public comment.
Supporting the proposals, Worcester and Middlesex State Senator John Cronin, a Democrat, referenced his district’s own Montachusett Regional Tech. He says state data shows “economically disadvantaged” applicants were nearly half as likely to receive an admissions offer (34 percent) versus more affluent applicants (64 percent) – which he says can’t go on.
“If any form of excellence in vocational schools has been achieved by discriminating against 13-year-olds at the front door of public schools - those who need a trade and a path to the middle class the most - that is no form of excellence we should be proud of or value or fight to protect,” he said.
Traci Griffith of the ACLU of Massachusetts also praised the proposals, adding that while non-weighted lotteries would be preferred, the proposed amendments represent a "meaningful effort to move beyond discriminatory practices."
“Selective admissions based on grades, attendance and disciplinary records have disproportionately excluded low-income students, students of color, disabled students and English learners … leading to unjustified and ongoing disparities in vocational school admissions,” Griffith said. “For example, in 2021… the vocational schools admitted 73.2 percent of white applicants, compared to 60.4 percent of applicants of color - a 12.8 percentage point gap. By 2023, this gap increased to 13.3 percentage points.”
Criticism for new criteria, alleged disregard of stakeholders
The new criteria that can give an applicant more weight includes attendance - specifically students with fewer than 27 unexcused, full-day absences. Also, students who can demonstrate an interest in pursuing career technical education and those who have not been suspended or expelled within 270 days of applying. A draft of the regulations describes various infractions and circumstances that would also be considered.
Scott Keeler, an advanced manufacturing instructor at Nashoba Valley Tech, said the board should reconsider that criteria. He argues a student who missed weeks of class can have the same weight as a student with regular attendance. He also argued against tossing grades as criteria.
“In my experience, failing classes requires more deliberate inaction than simply showing up,” he said. “In addition, eliminating grades tells students they do not need to try and as a teacher and a parent, this is deeply concerning. Admissions policies vocational schools currently have in place are rooted in common sense and directly support the unique mission of vocational education. What's on the table now for vote, frankly, does not.”
The changes also don’t have the support of the Massachusetts Association of Vocational Administrators, according to its vice president, Aaron Polansky, who said the implementation of a lottery disregards the "concerns of municipalities … vocational superintendents, school committee members and educators."
“If approved, there are nuances not accounted for in the proposed regulations that will impact the masses,” said Polansky, who also serves as superintendent-director of Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical. “A blanket approach is not the answer. This will radically change and undermine your nationally-recognized vocational, technical and agricultural models, where admissions issues in these models for subgroups are not systemic and widespread, though limited issues do exist. “A ‘yes’ vote is an endorsement of using what appears to be a misapplication of admissions data and disproportionality standards.”
While the changes are slated to go into effect this fall, there’s a chance the state legislature might step in. As it stands, the House budget contains language barring DESE from altering vocational school admission rules for a time - instead allowing a new task force to form, conduct research and make its own recommendations.
