Applications to Boston exam schools have tumbled by half since pandemic struck

The smaller school-age population, however, only partially explains the dramatic drop in applications; enrollment in the sixth and eighth grades in Boston Public Schools, which is when students apply to exam schools, has declined at a slower pace than the applications themselves, according to a Globe review of state data. Applications to Boston’s highly sought exam schools have fallen by nearly 50 percent over the last four years, amid a series of significant changes to the admission process and continuing declines in the school-age population. BPS also changed the way...