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MinnCAN: The Minnesota Campaign for Achievement Now today released analysis of the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment results, and while Minnesota students posted generally moderate gains the achievements gaps from 2011 to 2012 flat-lined or increased, particularly in racial subgroups.
Download a full analysis of the 2012 Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment results here.
MinnCAN analysis shows increasing achievement gaps from 2011 to 2012, and polarized student proficiency. Highlights include:
- The achievement gap between black students and their white peers remains staggeringly high in reading (29.2 percentage points) and math (35.8 percentage points), and has increased since 2011. In reading, the Hispanic-white achievement gap also increased.
- Nearly 50 percent of all black and Hispanic students are not reading on grade level, whereas slightly more than 80 percent of all white students scored proficiency or better.
- More than 60 percent of all black and Hispanic students are not proficient in math, and slightly more than 30 percent of all white students are not proficient.
- Nearly 60 percent of Minnesota high school students are not ready for college-level math. From 2011 to 2012, high school math scores dropped more than six percentage points, 48 percent to 41.8 percent, respectively.
“Minnesota students posted only minimal gains in the most recent MCA results, demonstrating alarmingly high achievement gaps that are further increasing in many instances since 2011,” said MinnCAN Executive Director Daniel Sellers.
“By 2018, 70 percent of Minnesota jobs will require post-secondary education. By that same year, the Minnesota Department of Education has committed – through Minnesota’s NCLB waiver – to reducing our state’s achievement gap by 50 percent. We are all in agreement that we need to close these gaps. Reducing our achievement gaps is admirable and also fair for all Minnesota children. But we are nowhere near on track for where we need be less than six years out.
“Minnesota children can’t wait any longer for our state’s leaders to adopt meaningful reform policies so that every child is able to learn from a high-performing teacher, and leave the K-12 public education system college- and career-ready.”
For interviews with Daniel Sellers, contact Nicholas Banovetz at: (651) 815-5999 or Nicholas.Banovetz@MinnCAN.org.
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About MinnCAN: Launched in January 2011, MinnCAN: The Minnesota Campaign for Achievement Now is an education reform advocacy organization. MinnCAN is building a movement of Minnesotans dedicated to creating the political will to enact smart public policies to ensure that every Minnesota child has access to a great public school. Learn more at www.minncan.org.