By Vallay Varro, November guest blogger
Minnesota’s achievement gap is a disservice to Minnesota students. Its implications on our economy today and tomorrow are irrefutable and enormous. By the numbers, we have the second-largest gap in the United States. The good news: We know what we need to do to reform our public schools.
Thirty-two years ago, amidst war and chaos in Laos, my family and I relocated to the United States as political refugees. We arrived with nothing more than the clothes on our backs; our perseverance and will to seek out the American dream was unstoppable. We left Laos for our safety and chose the United States for opportunity, and our vehicle to achieve the American dream: education. My parent’s convictions inspired me to graduate from high school and college, and attain a master’s degree in education policy. I share this anecdote because, with the circumstances I faced as a child, I should be a “face” of our achievement gap.
Minnesota’s achievement gap wears many faces, but the life a child is born into should not dictate his or her education opportunities. I was lucky. Education is learning, teaching and parenting. It’s also the preservation of the foundational and fundamental values that encompass our democracy, the fuel for our economic engine and the guarantor of knowledge and impact. Our collective future hinges on our ability to educate all children today, and educate them well.
We are a state rooted in progressive education policies and investments in young people. This is credited by, for example, innovative charter school laws and Post-Secondary Enrollment Options. While past achievements alone are not sufficient, they can serve as the launch pad for reform. Despite our unrivaled legacy of education innovation, we have the second-largest achievement gap in the country between black male and white male students. Recent MCA-II (Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment) results and national reports indicate a troubling picture:
- For five consecutive years, 20-40% more white students have passed the MCA-II test in reading and math compared to black and Hispanic students.
- In 2011, only 17% of black students and 23% of Hispanic students passed the grade 11 MCA-II mathematics test compared to 56% of their white peers.
- Also this year, 83% of white students passed reading, whereas 54% of Hispanic students and 48% of African-American students met state benchmarks.
The truth is, Minnesota’s achievement gap is only widening. It requires our immediate attention.
We must adopt an environment in which teachers use different teaching strategies, increase time on task and innovations that incorporate technology, critical thinking and a multidisciplinary approach to learning. Fortunately, many schools are beating the odds and effectively teaching students from disadvantaged backgrounds. It is in our best interest to make these best practices common practice.
The cause of our achievement gap isn’t a lack of knowledge. We know what we need to do, but we lack the bold leadership and political will necessary to advance the policies we know make a difference in children’s lives. Our strategy must be a multi-pronged approach to organize and mobilize ordinary people, practitioners, community leaders and policymakers to achieve the wins necessary to reconstruct public education. Luckily, many Minnesotans recognize this. Reform is on its way.
For more information, visit www.MinnCAN.org and follow #MinnCAN.
Comments