Changes in BPS exam school admissions (Boston: middle-class, real estate, rent)

[Highlander617]

Is it likely that the new changes to the BPS exam school admissions criteria will cause a large number of families to move to the the suburbs?

[msRB311]

Most people already do move out to the suburbs. I imagine more might now not that it's a good time to buy really.

[BostonBornMassMade]

"large numbers" no. Some? yes.

It is more likely it will be the next mayor that pushes moderate numbers of people to the suburbs, whoever that may be (Wu or Janey), as msRB311 already said most people already do move to the suburbs.

[GeePee]

Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade

"large numbers" no. Some? yes.

It is more likely it will be the next mayor that pushes moderate numbers of people to the suburbs, whoever that may be (Wu or Janey), as msRB311 already said most people already do move to the suburbs.

Right on. I think this may have a bigger impact than realized. It sure is going to be a changing of the guards here.

[msRB311]

so why were these changes made then? Seems like they're having a negative effect.

[BostonBornMassMade]

Originally Posted by msRB311

so why were these changes made then? Seems like they're having a negative effect.

Because it won't. It helps low-income and socially disadvantaged kids, not on the basis of race. Evenracially...most white kids in Boston are middle and upper-middle-class..and white. They have good families and are good students. This isn't 1992. These kids will be just fine. Any really disadvantaged/poor white children living in poor areas will be helped. So seems fair to me

Any white child who would get into BLS and won't now will probably go to Bryant or Private School or maybe help diversify a Boston Charter school. A few will head to the burbs but not many. There are only ~7000 white kids in Boston public Schools and only maybe 2000 are high school age. Most white people in Boston don't have kids. It certainly won't have a negative impact on Blacks/Latinos who make up the bulk of Boston's families and students. Except for those in southern Hyde Park and southeastern Dorchester who fall into a "privileged" census tract.

Some in the Chinese community will be negatively impacted, but some in Allston/Chinatown will stand to benefit. The Vietnamese community was vocally in favor of the changes, for obvious reasons. Chinatown stopped dissenting when it was revealed they'd be using smaller census tracts and not zip codes (zipcodes had lumped Chinatown with affluent, white Beacon Hill).

The reality is most leaders, families, and people in Boston are not white nor Chinese, nor are they upper middle class- and this system isn't what most people nor Boston City leadership wanted. It wasn't working favorable for most of the city. So changes were made-times change.

If more poor kids get to go to BLS the better for the city's economic growth and public safety. It's a great way to lift kids out of poverty. I also think it will have the effect of making the 3 exam school less distinguishable. So long as the curriculum remains the same BLS can remain the same cut throat Institution it already was.

[BostonBornMassMade]

Originally Posted by GeePee

Right on. I think this may have a bigger impact than realized. It sure is going to be a changing of the guards here.

I think most people anticipate a degree of white flight(probably already started) but I don't think it will be too major. Things like Rent Control that Wu wants and the cultural lens/emphasis of Janey...will eventually make Boston less enticing mainly to middle-class white people and the land-owning class. However, Boston will remain a city with high-paying jobs and tons of amenities so- ehh. People will adjust more than simply move. Not like there were tons of middle-class families in Boston to begin with.

[robr2]

Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade

Because it won't. It helps low-income and socially disadvantaged kids, not on the basis of race. Evenracially...most white kids in Boston are middle and upper-middle-class..and white. They have good families and are good students. This isn't 1992. These kids will be just fine. Any really disadvantaged/poor white children living in poor areas will be helped. So seems fair to me

Any white child who would get into BLS and won't now will probably go to Bryant or Private School or maybe help diversify a Boston Charter school. A few will head to the burbs but not many. There are only ~7000 white kids in Boston public Schools and only maybe 2000 are high school age. Most white people in Boston don't have kids. It certainly won't have a negative impact on Blacks/Latinos who make up the bulk of Boston's families and students. Except for those in southern Hyde Park and southeastern Dorchester who fall into a "privileged" census tract.

Some in the Chinese community will be negatively impacted, but some in Allston/Chinatown will stand to benefit. The Vietnamese community was vocally in favor of the changes, for obvious reasons. Chinatown stopped dissenting when it was revealed they'd be using smaller census tracts and not zip codes (zipcodes had lumped Chinatown with affluent, white Beacon Hill).

The reality is most leaders, families, and people in Boston are not white nor Chinese, nor are they upper middle class- and this system isn't what most people nor Boston City leadership wanted. It wasn't working favorable for most of the city. So changes were made-times change.

If more poor kids get to go to BLS the better for the city's economic growth and public safety. It's a great way to lift kids out of poverty. I also think it will have the effect of making the 3 exam school less distinguishable. So long as the curriculum remains the same BLS can remain the same cut throat Institution it already was.

This - many of the kids that wind up at the exam schools didn't go to BPS instead having parents with some means to pay for them to go to a private school. Half of private school students get into the exam schools.

[Urban Peasant]

As an older BLS graduate, I am actually happy they changed the exam school admission. It was so flawed in many ways. This new policy much better reflects the old pre-exam policy of picking the best kids from each neighborhood elementary or middle school and will result in a much better representation of our city.

As for flight from the City, I'd expect some but not a lot. Boston's already a difficult place to raise a family and this miniscule change really oughtn't be a major catclyst for flight. High rents and real estate are much better reasons. Besides, getting fixated on sending your kid to Boston Latin is not a reasonable thing to do. That's like wanting to live in Manhattan just to attend Stuyvesant, Brooklyn for Brooklyn Tech, Philly for Central High, etc. In my substitute teaching days, I've worked with students in the districts schools who were just as bright if not better than many exam school students.

[jpdivola]

This doesn't seem like it will have to much actual impact either way. Boston has long since transformed from a working/middle class city into a niche boutique city.

For better or worse, Boston and most other urban cities have long since been unattractive places for middle class families.

You basically have 4 groups of people:
1) the poor who benefit from the social services/affordable housing, and would be likely to benefit from this change.
2) the young yuppies who live in the city for social reasons- they don't really care too much about city government other violent crime being reasonably controlled, and parks and streets being maintained.
3) the wealthy- this group is largely like the 2nd group, although they tend to be more active followers of city affairs and care more about taxes, pretty crime, parking, zoning issues. This probably moderately annoying to them as they might be marginally more likely to have to pay for a private school.
4) the middle class families- this group is a shrinking share of the city. It's possible the change will push a few over the edge and out of the city. But, realistically the impact would be more fairly marginal as the change is but another on the long list of reasons for why to not live in Boston.


One wildcard in all of this is poor immigrant (often Asian) families. They tend to be outliers on the socioeconomic vs test score correlation. It's possible they will lose out. However, what is the alternative? Most other cities don't have BLS and they can't afford affluent suburbs or private schools.

By design this will lower the quality of the median student. However, it is unclear how much it will really change the academic aptitude of the student body. It if is at the margin, it won't really matter too much to the overall rigor and prestige of the school. Supporters would say that is worth it to give a leg up to some promising disadvantaged kids.