The Education Evolving Blog

Last week, the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) released the four-year graduation rates for the class of 2017, which reached a new statewide high of 82.7 percent overall. The statement also touted the narrowing of the graduation gap between white students and students of color. Specifically, in 2012, white students graduated at a rate 26.5 percentage points higher than students of color. The new 2017 data...

On January 10th, Secretary DeVos notified the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) that their Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) accountability plan has been approved. In the letter, Secretary DeVos congratulated Commissioner Cassellius on the approved plan and “for the important work that you and your staff [MDE] are doing to support the transition to the ESSA and most importantly to lead Minnesota’s students to achieve higher levels.”

The road to creating the...

Last week, the Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) Office released the November Budget and Economic Forecast for the state, which showed a $188 million projected deficit for the final year of the 2018 and 2019 biennium.

According to the forecast, the deficits are due to a reduced U.S. economic growth forecast and impacts of legislation enacted during the 2017 session. The forecast also noted, “At this time, it is unclear what tax law changes will emerge from the U.S. Congress and how those...

What would happen if schools had more autonomy and accountability for performance? And what if metro regions featured more diversity of school designs and parental choice?

In his new book, Reinventing America’s Schools, David Osborne, the Director of the Reinventing America’s Schools Project at the Progressive Policy Institute, answers these questions by describing the transformational E-12 public education changes that are taking place in several American cities—including New Orleans, Denver, Memphis, Washington D.C., and Indianapolis—that have adopted these strategies,...