Good Enough is not Enough

One narrative that I’ve seen frequently in conversation about the override from folks voting no is the “good enough” argument. It was “good enough” for me or good enough for my children any number of years ago. That statement might very well be accurate but things have changed over the last twenty years and quite significantly in the last five to ten years. With the increasing cost of college, application numbers have risen across the board in a significant way as students try to maximize financial aid by applying to more schools each year. I’m going to cite two colleges that we all know and would likely hope our children would be able to attend. If you were accepted one of these schools even five years ago, there is a good chance that you couldn’t get in now with the same GPA and SAT.

In 2011, for UMass Amherst, 61% of accepted students had a GPA of 3.5 (88 on 100 scale or B+) or higher and an average of 1170 cumulative SAT score. They received 29,452 applications and accepted 19,703 for a 67% acceptance rate. In 2018, 85% of accepted students had a GPA of 3.5 or higher and an average SAT of 1230. They received 40,703 applications and accepted 24,275 for a 60% acceptance rate. Colleges email school counselors with acceptance information every year. This year, for the class of 2019, the average GPA for accepted students is 3.9 (92 or A-) and an average SAT of 1320. In my own professional experience, I have recently had students denied and waitlisted who would have been accepted in past years.

Here is the data for Melrose in terms of UMass Amherst: Class of 2019 - 95 Applied, 23 admitted (data is incomplete because it is self reported to the school); Class of 2018 – 90 applied, 49 admitted 54% acceptance rate; Class of 2017 – 103 applied, 60 accepted 58% acceptance rate, and for reference Class of 2009 – 68 applied, 54 accepted 79% acceptance rate. Do you see a trend here?

I also looked at Northeastern; a school that many students would want to attend and historically not an elite university in terms of acceptance. In 2011, they don’t list a GPA (we can assume that it’s high), but the average SAT was 1285 with 34,005 applications and 13,948 admitted for a 41% acceptance rate. In 2018, still no GPA listed and an average SAT of 1420 with 51,063 applications and 14,747 admitted for an acceptance rate of 29%. For the class of 2019, from an email sent to school counselors, they had 62,000 applications, an 18% admittance rate with an average GPA of 4.0 and an average SAT of 1520. One of my top students wasn’t admitted with a 92 GPA and 1420 on SATs. She had plenty of extracurricular activities to balance her academics.

Here is the data for Melrose: Class of 2019 – 27 applied, 1 accepted (data is incomplete because it is self reported to the school); Class of 2018 – 29 applied, 13 accepted for acceptance rate of 44%; Class of 2017 – 30 applied, 13 admitted for a rate of 43%, and for reference, Class of 2009 – 31 applied, 17 admitted for an acceptance rate of 55%.

On the profile, Melrose High lists important information so colleges can determine the rigor of the high school to some degree. From the school profile, our average SAT score is 574 for Reading/Writing and 560 for math. The state averages are 550 R/W and 552 Math, so we’re doing slightly better. The numbers for the ACT aren’t as positive which is scored as composite of four tests (English, Math, Science, and Reading) for a maximum composite score of 36. The average ACT score for Melrose High was 24.3 and the state average was 25.5 for 2018. Standardized test scores are debatable as a measure of college success, but they are factored into admissions for most colleges. Our average SAT score of 1134 is not good enough for UMass Amherst let alone a highly selective elite college.

In Melrose, we have four guidance counselors with caseloads of 260. ASCA (American School Counseling Association) recommends caseloads no higher than 250, but 200 should be the target to meet the needs of all students. We only have one adjustment counselor at the high school who will see students with mental health diagnoses on a regular basis, and one school psychologist who does testing. I can only imagine how large the caseload is for the adjustment counselor. Since the adjustment counselor is likely overbooked, much of the on the spot counseling will be done by the guidance counselors which is part of their role for sure, but counseling anxious students is increasingly taking more of their time which prevents them from being able to provide the needed academic support and college planning. They need more help!

To give you an idea of the support available at higher ranked schools like Belmont and Winchester, Belmont has six guidance counselors and two school psychologists who test and meet have a caseload for 1309 students. Also, Belmont has a classroom support model for 20 to 25 students with anxiety which is staffed by two teachers and two support staff. Winchester has seven guidance counselors, two school psychologists, and three adjustment counselors for 1359 students. Student outcomes can be improved with more support.

Our children should reach for the stars, and we have the responsibility to provide them the resources that will enable them to compete with peers across the state and the country.

Mike Tubinis

Pearl St.