Students rally for reform

BOSTON. The federal government made efforts seven years ago to improve education, pledging to do so through an act titled “No Child Left Behind.”

Yesterday, they heard from some who said they were.

More than 200 area students, many among a growing number of high school dropouts, met with legislators at the State House as part of a school reform lobby day, highlighted by the release of Teen Empowerment’s “Voices of Children Left Behind in Massachusetts Public Schools.”

The book details stories of 31 students who have either dropped out or been hampered by major educational obstacles. Many of those students spoke loudly to legislators.

“We are losing a generation of creative, talented and intelligent individuals,” said 18-year-old Sable Covil, who left high school for two years due to troubles at home and an inability to stay motivated in school.

Covil cited a lack of emotional support from teachers and others pinned on an MCAS-driven curriculum as reasons for them to drop out. Whatever leads to such a choice, numbers show it’s being made quite often.

In 2007, Boston Public Schools reported a 25 percent increase in the dropout rate over the last seven years. The Massachusetts Department of Education projects that 34.8 percent of the Class of 2009 in Boston schools will drop out at some point.

“Some 12,000 have dropped out in the last five years,” said Teen Empowerment Executive Director Stanley Pollack. “Clearly, something is really, really wrong.”

While the day’s focus was MCAS reform, proponents of the exam cite an 87 percent success rate for Class of 2009 students last year, the highest number since its inception. Additionally, Gov. Deval Patrick has expressed a desire to keep MCAS in play, and just one bill is currently proposed that would reduce the test’s influence in a student’s education.