Rennie Releases 2025 Condition of Education in the Commonwealth
The Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy released its annual status report on public education, analyzing trends among Massachusetts students, educators, and schools, and highlighting areas for improvements. The 2025 Condition of Education in the Commonwealth report uses research to urge the Commonwealth to create a new vision for education.
The report points to trends in chronic absenteeism, student disengagement, and growing achievement gaps to highlight the urgent need to rethink the structure of education. A substantial body of research points to a large divide between how schools operate and how students learn. And the report argues that Massachusetts, a longtime leader in education, has tremendous potential to be a pioneer in transformative educational models.
“As a society we have an image of what school should look like—the way classes are arranged within buildings, how staff are assigned to work with students, the way students move through courses and across grades by age. But so much of that is based more on tradition than it is on best practices for learning,” said Dr. Chad d’Entremont, Executive Director of the Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy. “If we really want to address inequities, if we want to engage students, if we want graduates to be prepared for life in the modern world, we need to rethink everything. This won’t be easy, and it will require everyone from the classroom to the state house to challenge the way they think about school. But if we don’t try something new, gaps will widen, outcomes will stagnate, and opportunities for change will slip away.”
The Rennie Center’s Action Guide, The Schools our Students Deserve: A Roadmap for Rethinking Education, offers a starting point for Massachusetts to begin rethinking education. The report includes examples of schools and programs in Chelsea (MA), Salem (MA), Florida, Texas, and Colorado that are thinking outside the box to make public education more engaging, relevant, and impactful for all students. It also features state-level policy recommendations to start this transformative process.
As part of the Condition of Education project, the Rennie Center launched new features to its interactive Data Dashboard, which highlights key trends in Massachusetts from early education through college and career. The tool now allows users to sort data by district, region, and county to analyze geographic patterns.
The report was released at an event featuring a keynote address from Massachusetts Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler.
“One of my priorities as Education Secretary has been to reimagine the high school experience to ensure Massachusetts students are prepared for college or the careers of the future when they graduate. That’s why we have invested in early college, innovation career pathways and career technical education programs, giving students hands-on, engaging learning experiences and new skills. We are also taking full advantage of the critical opportunity to bring the definition of what it means to graduate from high school to new heights through Governor Healey’s Massachusetts K-12 Statewide Graduation Council. This council will consider what skills, knowledge, and experiences Massachusetts students need to thrive in their lives beyond high school,” said Education Secretary Dr. Patrick Tutwiler.
The event also featured a panel discussion with all three state education commissioners—Early Education and Care Commissioner Amy Kershaw, Elementary and Secondary Education Acting Commissioner Russell Johnston, and Higher Education Commissioner Noe Ortega.
The Rennie Center's Condition of Education Week also included the release of a Data Story on teacher recruitment and retention and a recorded conversation with educators on examples of innovative programs that are rethinking education.
Condition of Education Week Resources: