Impact MetroWest

Education is a point of pride for the MetroWest region, which has overall high elementary reading scores and high school graduation rates as well as an extremely well-educated adult population and strong, varied educational institutions including Wellesley College, Bentley University, Framingham State University and Massachusetts Bay Community College.

But the educational benefits of the region do not pertain to all in MetroWest – all educational metrics are lower for economically disadvantaged students and adults of color. The reasons for such disparities are complex and have historical roots, including inequitable access to high quality schools.

Consider:

Third-grade reading proficiency – which is critical to overall academic success – is at 74% among Asian students, 63% among white students, and just 36% and 34% among black or African American students and Hispanic or Latino students, respectively. In Framingham, just 20% of economically disadvantaged students and 23% of Hispanic or Latino students achieved proficiency, while 50% of students identified as not economically disadvantaged achieved proficiency
High school graduation rates are 87% among African American students and 80% among Latino students, lower than the rates for Asian students and white students (96% and 94%).
A fabulous 50% of adults in MetroWest hold at least a bachelor’s degree, up from 39% in 2000 and far above the national rate of 31%. Yet much lower shares of people of color have bachelor’s or higher degrees: 33% of African American residents of the region and 27% of Hispanic residents.

Prekindergarten helps prepare children both socially and academically for school, and can be especially important in preparing low-income children for kindergarten. In MetroWest in 2018, 53% of 4-year-olds were enrolled in public or private prekindergarten programs, up from 37% in 2002 and about level with the state rate. The vast majority of these children, or 74%, were enrolled in public prekindergarten programs.

School attendance also is critical to students’ ability to develop key skills and their future success in school. In 2017, 10% of students were chronically absent in MetroWest, below the state rate (14%). Rates were highest (14%) in Milford, Framingham and Marlborough, and lowest (3%) in Lexington. Absence rates decreased most since 2009 in Waltham (5 percentage points) and Ashland (4 points).

INDICATORS	TREND
Early Prenatal Care by Mother's Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Infant Mortality by Mother's Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Children Living in Poverty	Increasing
Children Living in Poverty, by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Single-Parent Families	Increasing
Single-Parent Families by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Disengaged Youth	Decreasing
Reports of Domestic Violence	Maintaining
Arts, Entertainment and Recreation Establishments	Increasing
Households Without Vehicles	Maintaining
Means of Transportation to Work	Not Applicable
Average Travel Time to Work	Increasing
Households With Internet Access	Not Applicable
Voter Participation Rate	Decreasing
Average Charitable Contribution	Maintaining
Protected Land	Not Applicable
Drug Poisoning Mortality Rate	Increasing
Crimes Against People	Decreasing
Incarceration Rates, by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Change in Total Population	Increasing
Change in Population by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Foreign-Born Population	Increasing
Language Diversity	Increasing
Population by Age	Not Applicable
Change in Population by Age/Gender	Not Applicable
Seniors Living Alone	Decreasing
People with Disabilities	Maintaining
Change in Total Jobs by Sector	Not Applicable
Unemployment Rate	Maintaining
Unemployment Rate by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Average Salary by Sector	Not Applicable
High-Tech Jobs	Decreasing
Female to Male Earnings Ratio	Maintaining
Prekindergarten Participation	Increasing
Student Performance on Grade 3 English, by Student Subgroup	Not Applicable
Student Performance on Grade 8 Math by Student Group	Not Applicable
Chronically Absent Students	Decreasing
High School Cohort Graduation Rate by Student Group	Increasing
Education Levels of Adults	Not Applicable
Education Levels of Adults, by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
People Living in Poverty	Increasing
People Living in Poverty, by Education Level	Not Applicable
People Living in Poverty, by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Household Receiving Temporary Assistance	Maintaining
Participation in Food Assistance by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Median Household Income	Maintaining
Median Household Income, by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Living Wage	Not Applicable
80/20 Income Ratio	Maintaining
Access to Financial Services, by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Homeownership Rates	Increasing
Homeownership Rates, by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Cost of Homeownership	Increasing
Cost of Homeownership, by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Cost of Rent	Not Applicable
Cost of Rent, by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Homelessness	Increasing
Early Prenatal Care by Mother's Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Infant Mortality by Mother's Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Children Living in Poverty, by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Single-Parent Families by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Incarceration Rates, by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Change in Population by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Unemployment Rate by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Student Performance on Grade 8 Math by Student Group	Not Applicable
Education Levels of Adults, by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
People Living in Poverty, by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Participation in Food Assistance by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Median Household Income, by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Access to Financial Services, by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Homeownership Rates, by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Cost of Homeownership, by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable

INDICATORS

TREND

Prekindergarten Participation

Increasing

Student Performance on Grade 3 English, by Student Subgroup

Not Applicable

Student Performance on Grade 8 Math by Student Group

Not Applicable

Chronically Absent Students

Decreasing

High School Cohort Graduation Rate by Student Group

Increasing

Education Levels of Adults

Not Applicable

Education Levels of Adults, by Race/Ethnicity

Not Applicable