Massachusetts has a long history of support for education. The Boston Latin School opened in 1635 as the first public school in the colonies. Harvard College—the first college in the US—was founded the following year. In 1647, for the first time, towns with more than 50 people were required by law to establish taxsupported school systems. More firsts followed: the country's first board of education, compulsory school attendance law, training school for teachers, state school for the retarded, and school for the blind. The drive for quality public education in the state was intensified through the efforts of educator Horace Mann, who during the 1830s and 1840s was also a leading force for the improvement of school systems throughout the US. Today the state boasts some of the most highly regarded private secondary schools and colleges in the country.
In 2000, 84.8% of state residents age 25 or older were high school graduates, and 33.2% had completed four or more years of college. Total public school enrollment for fall 1999 stood at 971,425. Of these, 706,251 attended schools from kindergarten through grade eight, and 265,174 attended high school. Minority students made up approximately 24% of the total enrollment in public elementary and secondary schools in 2001. Total enrollment was estimated at 985,000 in fall 2000 and is expected to reach 974,000 by fall 2005. State and local expenditures for public elementary and secondary pupils in 1999/2000 averaged $7,387 per pupil, well above the mean of $6,356. Expenditures for public education in 2000/01 were estimated at $9,050,308.
The early years of statehood saw the development of private academies, where the students could learn more than the basic reading and writing skills that were taught in the town schools at the time. Some of these private preparatory schools remain, including such prestigious institutions as Andover, Deerfield, and Groton. Enrollment in nonpublic schools in fall 2001 totaled 132,154.
As of fall 2000, there were 473,403 students enrolled in college or graduate school. In the same year Massachusetts had 117 degree-granting institutions. In 1997, minority students comprised 18.6% of total postsecondary enrollment. The major public university system is the University of Massachusetts, with campuses at Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, and Lowell, and a medical school at Worcester. The Amherst campus was established in 1863, and the Boston campus in 1965. The state has a total of 15 public colleges and universities, while the Massachusetts Board of Regional Community Colleges has 16 campuses.
Harvard University, which was established in Cambridge originally as a college for clergymen and magistrates, has grown to become one of the country's premier institutions. Also located in Cambridge are Radcliffe College (whose enrollment is included in Harvard's), founded in 1879, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT (1861). Mount Holyoke College, the first US college for women, was founded in 1837. Other prominent private schools and their dates of origin are Amherst College (1821); Boston College (1863); Boston University (1869); Brandeis University (1947); Clark University (1887); Hampshire College (1965); the New England Conservatory of Music (1867); Northeastern University (1898); Smith College (1871); Tufts University (1852); Wellesley College (1875); and Williams College (1793).
Among the tuition assistance programs available to state residents are the Massachusetts General Scholarships, awarded to thousands of college students annually, and Massachusetts Honor Scholarships, for outstanding performance on the Scholastic Aptitude Test. The State Board of Education establishes standards and policies for the public schools throughout the state; its programs are administered by the Department of Education. Higher education planning and programs are under the control of the Higher Education Coordinating Council.
The landmark Education Reform Act of 1993 established new systems of financial support for public elementary and secondary schools and instituted major reforms in governance, professional development, student educational goals, curricula, and assessments.