EDITORIAL: 19th-place ranking is a wake-up call for Minnesota education

Jun. 22—First, the good news.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation's 2024 Kids Count Data Book ranks Minnesota fifth among the nation's 50 states in "Overall Child Well-Being." The ranking is based on an in-depth examination of our children's economic well-being, education, health and something called "Family and Community."

That ranking should come as no surprise. Minnesota ranked fourth overall in 2019, third in 2020, 2021 and 2022, and fifth in 2023. Minnesota has long had a reputation as a great place to raise children, and that reputation hasn't changed.

But now the bad news. In education, the 2024 Kids Count report ranked Minnesota 19th. That's down one spot from last year's No. 18 ranking, and it represents a significant drop from 2019-22, a four-year span in which Minnesota never fell out of the top 10 in education.

The education ranking is based on four data points from the most recent analysis, which was in 2022. In that year, Minnesota matched the national average (46%) in pre-school participation and fourth-grade reading proficiency (32%). It topped the national average in eighth-grade math proficiency with 32% (the national rate was 26%), and our 83% on-time high school graduation rate lagged the national rate of 86%.

At this point, we must admit some temptation to do a deep dive into the data in search of confounding variables that might account for Minnesota's lower ranking. Did our students suffer from more-stringent, lengthier COVID lockdowns and longer periods of remote learning? Does Minnesota's definition of math and/or reading "proficiency" differ from other states'? Are our numbers skewed by an increase in the number of students for whom English is not the first language? Do Minnesota's results include more data from students who have learning disabilities?

Those are valid questions. States have a lot of freedom when it comes to setting academic standards, testing students and reporting student achievement, so surveys like the "Kids Count" must always be taken with a grain of salt.

But even with that caveat, we are very concerned about this survey's most recent snapshot of education in Minnesota.

For decades — dating back to the 1971 "Minnesota Miracle" — we have taken pride in our public schools. We've long assumed (correctly) that Minnesota kids are being well-prepared for adulthood, and that their test scores will always be among the best in the nation. While Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon is fictional, Minnesotans have long embraced its notion that "all the children are above average."

We'd point out, however, that Lake Wobegon's town motto of "Sumus Quot Sumus" is far more applicable as a description of Minnesota's current educational culture. It means "We are what we are."

So, what are we? We are a state in which our own Department of Education says 50.1% of students do not meet grade-level expectations. In Rochester, just 36.4% of students meet grade standards in science, and just 39.8% in math.

No amount of data-mining and excuse-seeking can change the reality of those numbers. We are what we are: A slightly-better-than-average place to send kids to public schools, in a nation where the bar for "average" seems to get lower every year.

So, what to do?

Minnesota already is taking action. In addition to free school meals for all students (hungry kids can't learn), districts statewide are implementing the 2023 Read Act, which focuses on literacy and changes the way teachers are trained and reading is taught, with the goal of every student reading at or above grade level.

That's a great place to start, because reading touches every aspect of a child's education. A student who can't read at grade level won't be able to learn a foreign language. Or follow the written directions for a science experiment. Or understand what is being asked in a math word problem.

But factors beyond literacy are at play, too. In the 2021-22 school year, nearly one-third of Minnesota students were absent for at least 10% of school days, and just 11% of ninth-graders took advantage of tutoring, homework help or any other academic assistance outside of the regular school day.

The simple reality is that teachers can do only so much. They can't teach students who routinely skip school. They can't force kids to show up for tutoring. They can't go to little Johnny's home and watch him write a book report. They can't turn off Abby's cell phone so she can focus on her algebra homework. They can't confiscate video game consoles or prevent hours-long social media sessions the night before a chemistry test.

Public education has always relied on some level of parental involvement, on cooperation between teachers and families. Today, that cooperation seems to be lacking. Too many parents are quite willing to blame their child's academic shortcomings on teachers, administrators and even school boards, while ignoring their own lack of involvement.

We're not saying that Minnesota school districts are blameless. They are not. Statewide, our reading instruction methods have been off-track for years, and we'd also argue that it's high time for a science-based, proven-effective method of math instruction in elementary school. Middle-school students shouldn't need a calculator or their fingers to solve 12x7, but sadly, many of them do. Flashcards and timed multiplication drills can still have a place in today's classrooms with current critical thinking practices.

But the long-term success — or decline — of Minnesota's public schools won't be entirely determined by whether school boards adopt the "right" curriculum, or whether the state Department of Education can figure out precisely how future teachers should be trained.

Rather, that success or failure will hinge in large part on whether we can return to a culture that respects teachers, has high expectations for students and expects kids to show up for school whenever the doors are open.