Dive Brief:
- A recent study from the Center on Reinventing Public Education that looked at graduation rates and other measures of student performance across 50 major cities is sparking controversy in Minneapolis.
- State education officials have called into question the numbers reported for college exam participation rates for the city; CRPE reported 4% participation, but officials say the actual rate is higher.
- CRPE representatives say they used numbers that were publicly available and present for all 50 cities, but are correcting the rate for college entrance exams.
Dive Insight:
The study was intended to give readers a big-picture look at their cities’ schools for easy comparison across cities. But in the case of Minneapolis, the comparison came as the city grapples with the task of closing a substantial achievement gap between white and black students. The study’s authors hope the dust-up over the exact numbers does not distract from the huge gap that remains — no matter the conflict.
“We want people to see the holistic view of their city,” Jose Hernandez, one of the study’s authors, told the Star-Tribune. “Obviously there are lows and highs, but we want them to look at their cities as a whole and weigh them against each other.”