·         Pilot Schools are attractive to Boston families, as evidenced by high waiting lists;
·         Pilot Schools have high holding power, as evidenced by high student attendance and low transfer rates
·         Pilots Schools are safe, as evidenced by low suspension rates
·         Pilot Schools are successful in educating students, as evidenced by low grade retention rates; standardized test scores (in MCAS and Stanford 9) that are comparable or higher than the BPS district averages for every single Pilot School, with most being higher; and high graduation rates
·         Pilot Schools provide students with expanded life opportunities, as evidenced by high college-going rates.  

Pilot Schools are able to achieve these results because they are small, personalized, and they have control over their resources.  With the same per pupil amount as regular BPS schools, Pilot Schools as compared to regular BPS schools have:

·         Lower class sizes
·         Lower overall student:teacher loads (55-60 students per teacher as opposed to well over 100 students per teacher in regular BPS schools)
·         Longer instructional periods
·         Greater amounts of collaborative faculty planning time, a key correlate to increased student achievement
·         Personalization, including advisories for every middle and high school student 

The Boston Pilot Schools have begun to demonstrate that when urban public schools are provided increased autonomy and flexibility to adopt innovative practices, and are held accountable for their results, student outcomes improve.

A case in point: recent experience at one Pilot school

Creating Equity from the Ground Up, by Linda Nathan, in Horace, Spring 2003.
Pilot school principal Nathan discusses the process her school has been going through to address co-existing commitments: “The Boston Arts Academy (BAA) is one of the few arts schools in the United States that has a completely open academic admissions policy. That is, we admit students solely on the basis of an artistic audition or portfolio, without regard to their previous academic record. At the same time, we are committed both to preparing all our students to do college work and to maintaining heterogeneous classrooms, without tracking, in most subjects. To meet both of these commitments is an enormous challenge.”