RTTT College and Career Readiness Evaluation Briefs
MassCore Program of Studies
September 2012
I NS ID E THIS
ISSUE:
Introduction
1
MassCore
1-4
Survey Findings
For inquiries about the
evaluation, please
contact Patricia Lee at
the UMass Donahue
Institute: PLee@
donahue.umassp.edu,
(413) 587-2402
Introduction
The RTTT College and Career Readiness Evaluation Briefs are a series of
publications written for participants in the Race to the Top evaluation being
conducted by the UMass Donahue Institute (UMDI). The Briefs will share key
findings from evaluation site visits, interviews, surveys, and reports. It is a high
priority for the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
(ESE) that you receive feedback from the evaluation. Your participation has been
very helpful and greatly appreciated.
MassCore is a set of courses and other learning opportunities that the state
recommends students complete before graduating from high school, in order to arrive
at college or the workplace well-prepared and without need for remedial coursework.
The 155 districts that selected RTTT college and career readiness goal 4A were
required to implement a set of strategies to increase the percentage of their students
who complete the MassCore curriculum, and an additional 119 districts also opted to
participate in this effort.
MassCore Survey Findings
This Brief focuses on results from a survey of RTTT administrators from the 155 districts that selected RTTT
Goal 4A (MassCore). The survey response rate was 74% (N=106)1, with the largest groups of respondents being
assistant superintendents (30%), superintendents (23%), curriculum coordinators (11%), and RTTT coordinators
(10%). Respondents were asked if MassCore completion is a graduation requirement in their district, and out of
84 respondents, 50% said yes, 46% said no, and 4% didn't know.
Table 1 (see next page) shows responses to a series of questions about districts' goals, knowledge, attitudes,
and use of funds in relation to MassCore. More than 80% of respondents agreed that increasing the rate of student
MassCore completion was a high district priority and a realistic goal for almost all of their students, and that the
district feels a high level of accountability for achieving RTTT MassCore targets and believes that doing so is a
realistic goal. In addition, more than 70% agreed that their district is using RTTT and non-RTTT funds to take
actions that they believe will lead to increased rates of MassCore completion.
Respondents were also asked about several actions that their district might have taken with the purpose of
increasing MassCore completion rates, and their responses are shown in Table 2 (see next page). The most
common actions already taken included conducting a needs assessment to identify areas in which existing courses
or supports need to be expanded or new ones added (68%), adding new courses or expanding existing ones (68%),
successfully changing district policies (66%), and starting or expanding online credit recovery opportunities (58%).
Only 47% reported that their district had developed a written action plan to increase MassCore
completion. The action planned or implemented with the lowest frequency was adding facilities (e.g., science
labs, art classrooms, physical education), with 64% of districts saying that they had no plan to take this action.
1
The survey sample included 142 of the 155 administrators, because 4 of the 155 districts did not serve high school
students, 4 of the district administrators opted out of receiving surveys, and 5 of the administrators served two districts e ach.
1
Table 1: MassCore Goals, Knowledge, Attitudes, and Use of Funds
N
Agree or
Strongly
Agree
(%)
Neutral
(%)
Disagree or
Strongly
Disagree
(%)
Increasing the rate of student MassCore completion is a high priority for my
district.
86
91
6
3
My district is using RTTT funds to take actions that we believe will lead to
increased rates of MassCore completion.
85
72
10
18
My district is devoting non-RTTT resources to taking actions that we believe
will lead to increased rates of MassCore completion.
85
80
11
9
My district feels a strong level of accountability for achieving the MassCore
targets for our district in the RTTT Goals Workbook.
85
83
13
4
Achieving the MassCore targets in the RTTT Goals Workbook is a realistic
goal for my district.
85
83
12
5
MassCore completion is a realistic goal for almost all students in my district.
85
84
8
8
Please indicate your district's level of agreement with the following
statements.
Note: Respondents who selected “Don’t Know” were not used to calculate percentages.
Table 2: Actions Taken in Service of Increasing MassCore Completion Rates
N
Action
Already
Taken
(%)
Action Planned
But Not Taken
Yet (%)
No Plan To
Take This
Action (%)
Conducted a needs assessment to identify areas in which existing
courses or supports need to be expanded or new ones added.
81
68
22
10
Developed a written action plan to increase MassCore completion.
80
47
37
16
Successfully changed one or more district policies.
77
66
16
18
Added new courses or expanded existing courses.
80
68
21
11
Hired additional personnel.
79
40
16
44
Added facilities (e.g., science labs, art classrooms, physical education).
77
16
20
64
Started or expanded online credit recovery opportunities.
77
58
26
16
Started or expanded teacher-led credit recovery opportunities.
73
48
19
33
Other
15
53
7
40
My district has planned and/or taken the following actions in
service of increasing MassCore completion rates:
Note: Respondents who selected “Don’t Know” were not used to calculate percentages.
Respondents who selected the "Other" response option said that their students were already meeting MassCore
requirements, so their district’s focus was on making sure that this continued (N=3). They also reported partnering
with colleges (N=2), providing summer credit recovery programs (N=1), developing middle school programs to
increase readiness for 7th and 8th graders (N=1), starting an early college program for first-generation low-income
students (N=1), providing dual enrollment (N=1), developing a tiered system for academic and non-academic
learning supports (N=1), and changing the graduation requirements for 2016 (N=1).
2
Respondents were then asked the extent to which various challenges affected MassCore completion in their
district. As shown in Table 3 below, eight areas were considered major or moderate challenges to MassCore
completion by more than a third of respondents, including needing to build capacity to offer needed math courses
(38%), science courses (40%), world language courses (51%), special education services (45%), and ELL services
(50%); needing additional science laboratory space (41%); course scheduling (38%); and the gap between
MassCore expectations and student skill levels (40%). The remaining areas were also seen as major or moderate
challenges by a substantial minority of respondents, including needing additional physical education facilities
(23%) and art classrooms (20%), and that the MassCore curriculum requires more time for academic curriculum
than is available for vocational students (26%).
Table 3: Challenges to Increasing MassCore Completion Rates
To what extent do the following areas present a
challenge to increasing MassCore completion rates in
your district?
N
Major
Challenge
(%)
Moderate
Challenge
(%)
Minor
Challenge
(%)
Not a
Challenge
(%)
We need to build capacity to offer needed math courses.
83
13
25
21
41
We need to build capacity to offer needed science
courses.
83
11
29
20
40
We need to build capacity to offer needed world
language courses.
81
26
25
15
34
We need to build capacity to offer needed special
education services.
82
21
24
21
34
We need to build capacity to offer needed ELL services.
79
23
27
20
30
We need additional science laboratory space.
80
23
18
13
46
We need additional physical education facilities.
81
12
11
14
63
We need additional art classrooms.
78
6
14
17
63
Our master schedule makes it difficult for students to
take the courses they need.
81
17
21
25
37
The gap between MassCore expectations and student
skill levels.
80
13
28
26
33
For vocational students, MassCore completion requires
more time for academic curriculum than is available.
53
17
9
19
55
Respondents were asked about the influence of an additional set of challenges on MassCore completion in
their district, and their responses are shown in Table 4 below. Those considered major or moderate challenges by
the most respondents included an inadequate budget to take needed actions (49%), the fact that MassCore
completion is not a graduation requirement in their district (36%), and the fact that MassCore completion is not
required by DESE (23%). Only a small minority of respondents rated the remaining issues as major or moderate
challenges, including lacking a district needs assessment (11%) or action plan (11%), disagreement between the
district administration and the school board as to whether MassCore completion should be a graduation
requirement (3%), or that the district leadership (1%) or school board (1%) do not believe that MassCore should
be a graduation requirement.
3
Table 4: Challenges to Increasing MassCore Completion Rates
To what extent do the following areas present a
challenge to increasing MassCore completion rates in
your district?
N
Major
Challenge
(%)
Moderate
Challenge
(%)
Minor
Challenge
(%)
Not a
Challenge
(%)
MassCore completion is not a graduation requirement
within our district.
81
9
27
10
54
MassCore completion is not required by ESE .
82
7
16
15
62
The district leadership does not believe MassCore should be
a graduation requirement.
79
1
4
6
89
The school board does not believe MassCore should be a
graduation requirement.
73
1
0
9
90
The district administration and the school board disagree as
to whether MassCore should be a graduation requirement.
71
0
3
1
96
Our budget is inadequate to take the needed actions.
82
32
17
19
32
We lack a district needs assessment to identify needed
actions.
80
3
8
11
78
We lack a district action plan for increasing MassCore
completion.
82
2
9
17
72
Other
9
33
11
0
56
Advice to Others on Increasing MassCore Completion Rates. Administrators were asked to provide advice
to other districts about how to increase MassCore completion rates, based on their own district’s successes and
challenges. The most common advice was to align graduation policy to MassCore requirements (N=8). Two of
these respondents also said that districts should include MassCore as part of their strategic planning process.
Six respondents commented on stakeholder buy-in. Two said that a high level of commitment from the
administration, school committee, and staff was vital to success. Four suggested that administrators actively reach
out, communicate, and campaign the public for support. One reported that their district was planning to begin
using the news media for this purpose, and another recommended that administrators begin the campaign early and
gather data to support the cause.
Four administrators recommended that districts incorporate intervention strategies and rigor at the elementary
and middle school levels so that students enter high school prepared to succeed under the MassCore curriculum.
Two respondents said that districts should be prepared to provide extra support and guidance for students in order
to help them meet requirements. Finally, one suggested that student schedules be flexible enough to accommodate
MassCore requirements, while another recommended a 4x4 AB schedule to increase course offerings.
4