Ep 3: Understanding MassCore: Why Adopt?

Part 2 of our mini-series on MassCore features a podcast with Paul Reville. Paul is the Francis Keppel Professor of Practice of Educational Policy and Administration at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE), where he is the founder of HGSE's Education Redesign Lab. As the former Chair of the state Board of Education, and later Secretary of Education under Governor Deval Patrick, Paul was a key architect and advocate for the state-wide adoption of the MassCore framework in high schools.

In this podcast interview with Jill Shah, Paul tackles topics that are key to understanding the intentions and context for this policy, such as:

• The role of globalization and the standards movement in the crafting of the MassCore policy;

• How and why the state viewed MassCore through a lens of educational equity;

• Why MassCore was a recommended—rather than required—framework for a high school diploma; and,

• The challenges of MassCore adoption, particularly in Boston Public Schools.