BOSTON – This week, Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn went on record in support of the recent proposal to the Boston exam school admissions policy, which includes adding a city-wide round for top-performing students and elimination of school-based bonus points.

In 2020, during the pandemic, the admissions process was solely based on grade point average,  the Independent School Entrance Exam score, and choice in school. In 2021, the Boston School Committee voted to implement a socioeconomic tier system for admissions. Applicants were evaluated on their academic performance and entrance exam scores within eight socioeconomic tiers determined by their home address. Eligible students received a composite score, in which 70% was based on their GPA and the remaining 30% based on the MAP Growth assessment score, measuring growth and achievement across various subjects.

Over the last few years, parents across the city have expressed that qualified students, applicants scoring as high as 100, have been denied based on where they live. In the last few years, parents have expressed that they live on the wrong side of the street on K Street or E Street in South Boston in older housing stock; however, if they lived in new construction across the street, their child would have been accepted. In District 2, and across the city, a system like that will not work when there is a mix of single families, triple deckers, and large multi-family buildings all together.

Councilor Flynn supports adding a city-wide round for top-performing students, as it would allow for all students, regardless of where they live, to essentially compete for 40% of exam school seats. This policy change would account for deserving children in Tier 4 being excluded based on where they live.

Councilor Flynn has also spoken with long-time education leaders who emphasized that this is win-win for the city. But they also stressed that there is an unfunded mandate for an enrichment program with grades 4, 5 and 6 across the city that has yet to be implemented. The city should be looking at this enrichment program to help more students to be ready to apply, especially our underserved communities. Having more of our children participate in such a program will not only benefit our exam schools, but it will have the consequence of benefiting all schools across the district.

On eliminating school-based points, Councilor Flynn continues to hear from many parents that they have not worked as intended and proven to be unfair, inequitable, and arbitrary as they are awarded to applicants regardless of their individual economic circumstances. Moreover, schools with similar levels of economically disadvantaged students are not all consistently receiving the same bonus points.

Parents across the city also continue to advocate for a policy that would allocate seats to tiers proportional to the number of applicants in each tier – and that they believe such a change would effectively increase diversity over pre-pandemic levels and treat applicants fairly by achieving an equal admission rate for each tier. However, they believe that a city-wide round and elimination of the bonus points is our next best option.

“Qualified students, and applicants scoring as high as 100, should not have been denied these last few years based on what neighborhood they come from. It is critical to implement a system that is fair to every 6th grader and families seeking an opportunity to attend any of our three exam schools. I fully support the thoughtful changes that are being proposed, such as a citywide round and elimination of bonus points, and I continue to advocate for an enrichment program to support all of our high schools and BPS families,” said Councilor Flynn.

For more information, please contact Councilor Flynn’s office at 617-635-3203 or [email protected].