Dive Brief:
- New data released by the Minnesota Department of Education shows that nearly two-thirds of schools have made significant progress in cutting achievement gaps between white and minority students in reading and math.
- The state has one of the largest achievement gaps in the country, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
- In 2012, the state devised a system to track achievement gaps and set goals for schools, with the objective of cutting the achievement gap in half by 2017.
Dive Insight:
Schools across the country have grappled with how to cut performance gaps between white students and students of color, as well as between poor and affluent students and English language learners. It’s proved a stubborn problem, with many schools trying a host of solutions from implementing technology-based instruction to competency-based learning and skill-level grouping. In recent months, thanks to reporting from Nikole Hannah-Jones and This American Life, integrating schools and classrooms has gained some traction as a way to close achievement gaps between white and black students.
In Minnesota, just 14 schools have been recognized for their progress toward closing achievement gaps for five years running. And most of those recognized are not in the state’s largest cities, Minneapolis and St. Paul, where the biggest gaps exist and where the largest number of students of color are enrolled. Local officials have resisted participating in state programs to close gaps.
“If the state really wants to meet its goals, we are going to have to see Minneapolis and St. Paul also improving,” Minnesota Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius said. “We are ready to go all-in, but schools are locally controlled. But we are ready to do all hands on deck.”