On January 16, the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO) released the results of a study of the past 20 years of the impact of the METCO program on METCO students and their suburban peers. This longitudinal study, conducted by Tufts University Assistant Professor of Economics, Elizabeth Setren, found that the METCO program has a large positive effect on its participants’ educational achievements and careers, with no indication of negative academic or behavioral effects in the suburban schools attended by METCO students.
Newton is one of 33 suburban school districts around Boston participating in the METCO program. Founded in 1966, METCO has enrolled tens of thousands of Boston students in these predominantly white school districts in part to create racially and ethnically diverse settings for students. According to METCO program management, many have called METCO a major player in the effort to dismantle racism.
Newton’s METCO Director, Lisa Gilbert-Smith, said, “Newton METCO is pleased that the METCO Longitudinal Research Project has revealed the wide and deep impact that METCO has on the lives of Boston students as well as on the lives of our resident students. Diverse students learning together supports everyone’s learning. The research shows that there are no negative impacts on white students from the presence of black and brown students from Boston. In fact, with the introduction of METCO 2.0, Newton and the other 32 districts have begun the work of ensuring that every student, resident and Boston, understands that when the METCO program is integrated the way that it should be, all of the students in the district benefit. NPS students are better positioned to lead in our city, state, country, and world when students have an opportunity to learn in a racially and culturally diverse learning community.”
The research study explored the specific effects of the METCO program on participating students’ outcomes including MCAS test scores, attendance, suspensions, college aspirations, college preparation, high school graduation, college enrollment, persistence, and graduation, the type of college students attended, employment, and earnings. It also examined the impact of the METCO program on participating suburban districts’ students, focusing on academic performance, attendance, suspensions, and classroom composition.
In order to compare students with similar traits, the research compared METCO students with students who applied to METCO but did not attend. METCO program management thus concludes that the differences highlighted between METCO participants and non-participants are due to the METCO program itself and not to the types of students who participate in the program.
According to the Executive Summary of the research, the following findings were consistent across all 33 suburban districts in the METCO program.
Impact on METCO students:
- “METCO leads to substantial gains in Math and English Language Arts (ELA) MCAS test scores across grades 3 through 10. Students score 50 percent closer to the state average for Math and two-thirds closer to the state average for ELA by 10th grade because of program participation.
- The program lowers the likelihood students are suspended by about one-third for middle and high school grades and two-thirds for elementary grades.
- METCO enrollment increases school attendance by 2 to 4 days a year despite the farther distance and fewer public transit options if students miss the school bus.
- METCO participation halves the high school dropout rate and increases on-time high school graduation by 10 percentage points.
- Participating in METCO increases SAT taking by 30 percent and increases the likelihood of scoring a 1000 or higher by 38 percent. However, students are not more likely to score above a 1200 on the SAT. METCO also has no impact on AP exam taking or scores.
- Attending suburban METCO schools increases four-year college aspirations and enrollment by 17 percentage points each. …
- METCO results in a 6-percentage point increase in 4-year college graduation rates and leads to increased earnings and employment in Massachusetts at age 25 through 35.”
Impact on suburban resident students:
- “No effect [was found] of having METCO participants in the grade on suburban students’ MCAS test scores, attendance rates, or suspension rates. …
- There is no indication that students experience more severe classroom disruptions due to having METCO peers.”
