The State of Things: Tracking BPS's Road to Improvement, 2022-23. White Paper No. 261

In Spring 2022, Pioneer Institute published "The Boston Publics Schools' Road to Receivership," which detailed the findings of the 2019 state-commissioned, third-party report evaluating outcomes and operations in the Boston Public Schools (BPS). The report was scathing, citing years of declining enrollment, low test scores, financial mismanagement, and poor oversight and support of schools. When schools reopened in 2022 following the pandemic, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and other advocates for change publicly revisited the report's findings and opted to strengthen and renew an agreement with BPS that details the improvements the district needs to make and how the state will support its efforts. This article details aspects of the 2022 report in the context of news reports about the BPS and uncovers progress that has been made and has yet to be made on key issues. It concludes with broad recommendations for state and district action pertaining to some of the report's key findings. [For related report, "The Boston Public Schools' Road to Receivership. White Paper No. 247," see ED617699.]