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ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — New standardized test scores show Minnesota students made no overall improvement in math, reading or science this year and made little progress in closing achievement gaps between white and minority students.
Sixty percent of students met state math standards, down from nearly 62 percent in 2014, the Star Tribune (http://strib.mn/1I437wA ) reported. And about 60 percent of students mastered state standards in reading, compared to 59 percent last year.
White students in Minnesota continued to outperform minority students by more than 20 percentage points on average.
Minnesota Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius said she isn't satisfied with the results, but they don't paint a complete picture of student achievement in the state because they fail to measure academic growth that students may be making.
"This is one measure at one point in time," she said. "It does not look at students who move from not proficient to partially proficient."
The Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment tests were taken this spring by about 500,000 elementary and high school students across the state. They're meant to measure student achievement and teacher performance in some districts; chart the progress of schools and districts; and monitor school improvement and accountability.
Although testing season was complicated by computer glitches, attacks by computer hackers and other testing problems, Cassellius said there's no statistical evidence showing they impacted student's test scores.
Cassellius believes the state is seeing stagnant scores in reading because the test is relatively new and educators are still getting used to teaching a more rigorous curriculum. When the state changed its reading exam in 2013, there was a significant drop in test scores, from 75 percent proficiency to 58 percent. Scores have only gone up about 1 percentage point each year since then.
The exam now places a greater emphasis on critical thinking skills and requires students to read and comprehend longer nonfiction passages, Cassellius said.
"Reading is an area where we are working toward," she said. "As teachers master the standards and get better, it will work."
Statewide math scores also haven't seen any major changes since 2011, according to Cassellius, who's still working to determine why Minnesota students aren't improving in that area. She believes the state will offer more training to math teachers to help encourage growth.
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Information from: Star Tribune, http://www.startribune.com
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