PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The Annenberg Institute at Brown University released a report that takes a closer look at how Massachusetts districts are serving immigrant newcomer English learners in high school. The report, Land of Opportunity? Immigrant Newcomers in Massachusetts High Schools, highlights the significant challenges districts face in helping newcomers make progress toward both English proficiency and graduation. The Institute’s Educational Opportunity in Massachusetts team produced the report as part of its research-practice partnership with the state of Massachusetts.

Land of Opportunity? is a follow-up to the team’s 2023 report, which documented the rapid growth in the number of immigrant newcomers to Massachusetts high schools and the diversity within this population in demographic characteristics like home language and country of origin and in their educational outcomes. Newcomers, defined as English learners in their first 12 months of schooling in the United States, remain largely concentrated in urban districts like Boston, Lynn, and Lawrence. That said, a growing number of Massachusetts districts now serve this population: 102 districts served more than five high-school newcomers as of spring 2024.

Starting in 2025, travel bans, increased entry restrictions, and other measures designed to curtail immigration had real impacts, with 1,000 fewer newcomers arriving in Massachusetts public high schools that year. The report highlights how high-school newcomers differ from other vulnerable student groups in key respects.

"Newcomers are unique in that half of each year's group arrives well after the start of the school year, meaning they miss the opening rituals and information sessions designed to orient new high-school students," said Ann Mantil, Research Scientist with the Educational Opportunity in Massachusetts team. "Also, nearly half of newcomers are at least 16 years old in September of their entry year; many of these older students face work obligations that make school attendance and engagement more difficult."

Across the state, the report finds that districts are struggling to accomplish the dual goals of helping newcomers progress toward English language proficiency while mastering academic content in the state’s curriculum frameworks. For newcomers who arrive in high school with very limited English skills and/or gaps in prior learning, the path to graduation is extremely demanding, and many students do not complete it. The report also notes that uncertainty about their futures in the U.S. may lower newcomers’ academic expectations and aspirations.

The report highlights five key findings:

1. Until very recently, many Massachusetts districts have experienced large growth in their newcomer populations and rapid changes in newcomers’ backgrounds and needs.
2. Half of high-school newcomers are 16 years or older when they arrive, and districts vary widely in how they serve these older newcomers.  
3. District differences in policies and practices for newcomers reflect the state’s long tradition of local control and differences in newcomer populations – but also the degree to which educators are adapting programs and structures in response to newcomers’ needs.
4. Allowing newcomers to access rigorous courses and specialized programs, such as Career and Technical Education (CTE), is necessary but not sufficient for equity.
5. Across districts, newcomers’ graduation rates remain low, and many who do graduate have not attained English language proficiency.

Reflecting on what the report reveals, Mantil noted, "‘Land of Opportunity?’ refers to the struggles of the public education system, which has long been held as the locus of opportunity in the U.S., to serve newcomers effectively. The data we examined show that many opportunities afforded to other high-school students are out of reach for newcomers. Our findings raise questions about whether Massachusetts high schools are doing enough to unlock opportunities for this extremely vulnerable population."

The full report is available at annenberg.brown.edu/edopportunity/land-of-opportunity.  

Ann Mantil
Research Scientist in Education Policy
Educational Opportunity in Massachusetts, Annenberg Institute at Brown University
ann_mantil@brown.edu

DreJean Cummings
Assistant Director for Strategic Communications
Annenberg Institute at Brown University
drejean_cummings@brown.edu