Worcester County has relatively low levels of youth living in poverty but marked racial and ethnic disparities in educational performance metrics, which have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels.
Perhaps the greatest risk factor to children’s success is poverty. Children raised in poverty are at higher risk of health and social problems, including Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES), which can negatively impact performance in school and diminish their chances for successful adult lives. In 2018-22, about 20,700 children in Worcester County were living in poverty, or 12% of all children under 18. This rate represents a two-point decline from 2013-17 and is the same as the state rate. Poverty rates were highest among Hispanic or Latino (24%) and Black or African American (19%) children.
Pre-kindergarten helps prepare children both socially and academically for school. In 2022, 50% of Worcester County 4-year-olds were enrolled in a pre-kindergarten education program, on par with the state rate. This is a 13-point increase from 2021 but still below pre-pandemic levels which hovered around 60-65% between 2010 and 2019.
While standardized testing indicators, like the MCAS, do not offer a full picture of the performance and/or abilities of a student, they can help track student progress and achievement. It is crucial to contextualize these data in contrast with other social factors that can have a deep impact on student performance and learning.
In Worcester County, the 2023 shares of students considered proficient in third grade and tenth grade English Language Arts (ELA), and eighth grade and tenth grade math were below 2019 pre-pandemic levels. The proficiency rate for third grade ELA declined 13 points from 2019 to 2023, eighth grade math declined eight points, and tenth grade ELA and math declined five points and nine points respectively. Declines were similar at the state level.
Additionally, all standardized testing metrics in Worcester County were lower for students of color. The reasons for such disparities are complex and have historical roots, including inequitable access to high quality schools. Consider that in 2023:
On a bright note, Black and African American students in Worcester County had higher third grade reading and eighth grade math proficiency rates than peers at the state level.
The disparities in high school graduation rates were less stark, with 91% of the 2018-19 cohort graduating in 2022 but only 85% of students with low-income backgrounds and 84% of Latino students, compared to 97% of Asian students, 93% of White students and 90% of Black or African American students.
Whether a young person is in school or working can be an indicator of future success. School and work help teens acquire the skills, knowledge and supports they need to become productive adults. Teens who drop out of school and do not become part of the workforce are at risk of experiencing negative outcomes as they transition from adolescence to adulthood. In 2018-22, 4% of youth ages 16-19 in Worcester County were not in school or not working, slightly lower than the state rate of 5% and less than the national rate of 7%.
