Minnesota drops to 19th place in education in state rankings

June 18—ROCHESTER — As Minnesota falls in national education rankings, Rochester Public Schools is making an effort to turn the tide for students in its own corner of the state.

According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s annual report, Minnesota ranks 19th in education among the 50 U.S. states. The state’s ranking fell from the 10th place it held in the organization’s 2019 report and the sixth place it held in 2014.

“Educational outcomes are not only affected by what happens in the classroom,” Alisha Porter, state director of the Minnesota Children’s Defense Fund, said in a statement. “That’s why it was so important that in 2023 Minnesota enacted universal school meals and made historic new investments in housing, child care, healthcare, family economic stability and education. our children need their basic needs met.”

In addition to education, the Annie E. Casey Foundation rating measures a child’s overall well-being, economic well-being, health, family and community.

There is some lag between the report’s conclusions and current work underway, as the ranking measures information from 2022, which is the most recent data available.

The report notes that several factors contributed to the state’s overall score. One is that 68% of the state’s fourth graders are not proficient in reading. The report also considers the number of 3- and 4-year-olds in school, the number of high school students who graduate on time, and the number of eighth-graders who are proficient in math.

Independent information from the Annie E. Casey Foundation indicates that Minnesota schools struggle to prepare their students for the future. In 2023, the state

education authorities reported

that 49.9% of students are reaching or exceeding their grade. That same report indicated that results for each assessment area remained about 10 percentage points below pre-pandemic levels.

In addition to simply diagnosing the problem, the foundation’s report included steps that educational leaders should take to reinforce their students’ learning: Increase access to private tutoring, address chronic student absence, and invest in community schools, among others.

Despite the drop in rankings, the state has placed great emphasis on education, including passing the Reading Act of 2023, which aims to increase literacy through screenings, support systems and monitoring. Since then, school districts have been in the process of implementing the new legislation.

The Rochester School Board reviewed the district’s literacy efforts during a June 11 meeting. Board member Justin Cook, who has long advocated for increasing the district’s literacy rates, praised the work being done and described it as having the potential to advance the city’s students. .

“What we’re doing now is really innovative,” Cook said. “This is rocket science in education.”