Minnesota Department of Education :

Legislative Auditor Charter School Report

Minnesota Department of Education Deputy Commissioner Chas Anderson issued the following statement in response to a Legislative Auditor’s report on charter schools:

“The Minnesota Department of Education welcomes the Legislative Auditor’s thorough report on Minnesota charter schools. “We are especially pleased that the report reflects an improvement in financial management, which shows that ‘charter schools’ financial health is comparable to that of school districts.’

“The Department of Education also welcomes many of the Auditor’s recommendations to the legislature to strengthen and simplify charter school oversight and will begin working with charter school stakeholders and legislators with that goal in mind.

“We plan to utilize the Auditor’s report to continue strengthening charter schools, which are an important public school choice option.”

2008 Math and Reading MCA-II Results Up Slightly

Math and Reading MCA-II assessments were up slightly in 2008, according to results released today by the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE). Minnesota students made the biggest gains in 10th-grade reading, with a 9 percent increase.

“Improvement is always welcome when measuring our students’ educational progress,” Minnesota Education Commissioner Alice Seagren said. “Yet, true to Minnesota’s tradition of education excellence, we must make every effort to prepare every Minnesota student for success in a world that will challenge them in ways that preceding generations could scarcely have imagined.” Read news release. Look-up your school or district results.

Nearly 90 Percent of Minnesota 9th-Graders Pass Graduation Writing Test

The Minnesota Department of Education today announced that nearly 90 percent of Minnesota 9th-graders passed the Writing Graduation-Required Assessments for Diploma (GRAD). “We are pleased that Minnesota students have performed so well on the Writing GRAD,” Education Commissioner Alice Seagren said. “We hope this assessment provides educators with a starting point for improving every student’s writing skills.”

The Writing GRAD assessment is designed to measure whether or not a student has attained basic writing skills before graduation. Those skills include the ability to formulate and communicate a written message in English to an adult reader. Taking into account several factors, including composition, style, sentence formation, grammar, and mechanics and spelling, the assessments are graded as passing or not passing. Read news release. View results by public school.

MNParentsKnow Website Voted Best New Resource

Minnesota ParentsKnow Website offers Minnesota parents a convenient source of trusted knowledge about their child’s health, learning, development and safety. The site was voted best by Minnesota Parents Magazine readers and announced in the July issue.

“And now, Minnesota ParentsKnow Website offers parenting information to an increasing number of Minnesota parents,” said Education Commissioner Alice Seagren. The new information, for parents of children through age five, is in addition to the infant information already available on the Website. Ultimately, the Department plans to include information through grade 12.

MNParentsKnow.info is hosted by the Minnesota Department of Education and was developed as part of the Educate Parents Partnership, an early childhood initiative of Governor Tim Pawlenty funded by the 2006 Legislature. Read news release.

75% of Minnesota 10th-Graders Meet New Graduation Reading Requirement

The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) announced today that the percent of Minnesota 10th-graders proficient in reading increased dramatically in 2008. “These reading results show that if we increase rigor and we raise expectations, our students can and will rise up to meet the challenge,” said Minnesota Education Commissioner Alice Seagren.

“Minnesota students and educators deserve credit and praise for their outstanding effort.” The GRAD replaces the state Basic Skills Test (BST) for students in eighth-grade in 2005-06 or later. Last year, ninth-graders took the Writing GRAD for the first time. This year, those students took the Reading GRAD as 10th-graders, and next year they will be taking the Math GRAD test as 11th-graders. Multiple GRAD retest opportunities are available to students who did not meet the graduation requirement. Schools will provide remediation to those students prior to taking the GRAD retest online. Read news release.

Nearly 185,000 Minnesota Students Successfully Take New Online Science Assessment

“Online assessments will become the standard method for assessing the academic progress of our students,” Minnesota Education Commissioner Alice Seagren said. “This year, Minnesota took its first successful step toward that exciting new future. Our dedicated educators deserve much credit for that success.”

This spring, students in grades five, eight and high school took the online assessment that was developed in partnership with Pearson, the state’s assessment vendor. The Science MCA-II, which is aligned to Minnesota’s Academic Standards, is interactive and allows students to simulate experiments online. Download sample test questions for the assessment. Read news release.

Minnesota Launches Math and Science Teacher Academy

The Minnesota Department of Education announced the creation of the Minnesota Mathematics and Science Teacher Academy that will focus on improving mathematics and science instruction and learning through ongoing, quality professional development statewide. A result of Governor Pawlenty’s efforts to improve teacher effectiveness, especially in the areas of math and science, funding for the program was approved during the 2007 legislative session.

The Academy is comprised of nine regional Teacher Centers throughout the state, each including at least one K-12 school district or education service cooperative, and one higher education institution. The Centers are located in Thief River Falls, Mountain Iron, Fergus Falls, Staples, Marshall, St. Cloud, Mankato, Rochester and Plymouth. “Math and science education are central to Minnesota’s efforts to prepare our students for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century,” Governor Tim Pawlenty stated. Read news release.

Applications Open for U.S. Senate Youth Program

Scholarship Applications are now being accepted for the U.S. Senate Youth Program. Two high school juniors or seniors from each state, the District of Columbia and the Department of Defense Education Activity will spend an all-expense paid week in Washington D.C. and receive a $5,000 undergraduate college scholarship. The student delegates will tour the city and visit with the highest-level officials from each branch of government.

Applications are due Oct. 15, 2008. Names of students selected will be formally announced in Mid-December. For more information, visit the U.S. Senate Youth Program Website. View application.

Increasing Awareness of Military Issues Within Minnesota Schools

Thousands of Minnesotans serve our country in the military and in turn, thousands of military families and children are impacted by their service. As leaders in education, we want every educator to know that children in their classrooms and schools may be affected by the military service of a parent or family member.

The Minnesota Department of Education has partnered with Governor Pawlenty’s Yellow Ribbon Task Force and other educational organizations to increase awareness of military issues within Minnesota schools. As part of this effort, we are making available informational resources for military children, families and educators.