Minnesota schools narrow achievement gap; Minneapolis and St. Paul lag - MinnPost
The state’s embarrassing achievement gap has closed a bit. Tim Post of MPR says , “Nearly two-thirds of Minnesota schools are on track to lower achievement gaps in reading and math 50 percent by 2017, the Minnesota Department of Education said Tuesday. That's based on the latest round of accountability scores for all of Minnesota's schools through the Multiple Measurements Ratings system. … Both the Minneapolis and St. Paul districts have decided to work with struggling schools on their own, using their own experts and without in-school support from the state. The PiPress story, by Christopher Magan and Josh Verges adds this: “Despite progress statewide, few St. Paul and Minneapolis schools got top marks. ‘We will not meet our state goals unless we see significant improvement in Minneapolis and St. Paul student performance,’ she said. Among 1,451 schools to get a Focus Rating — a measure of a school's contribution toward closing the state's achievement gap — only one St. Paul and three Minneapolis public district schools scored in the top quarter of the state. In the Strib Dee DePass reports , “The high U. S. dollar smothered any chance for export growth during the second quarter for Minnesota companies — especially with Canada, the state's largest trade partner. The AP says, “Luck has struck not once but twice this year for a St. Paul man playing the Minnesota Lottery. Source: www.minnpost.com
