Minnesota unveils new benchmarks for schools, identifies 485 for additional help

More than 480 Minnesota schools struggling with low graduation rates, stagnant test scores or chronic absenteeism are set to get additional help from the state Department of Education, which is debuting a new approach to measuring schools’ performance.

In the past, the state primarily used annual test scores to spot failing schools. Now, to comply with a new federal education law — the Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA — Minnesota is broadening its barometer for success to include high school graduation rates, attendance, progress made by students learning English, and students’ improvement on test scores, year over year. Under those measures, 485 schools — about a quarter of all schools in the state — were singled out for low marks on at least one of those measures and must now begin a three-year effort to fix those problems.

http://www.startribune.com/minnesota-unveils-new-benchmarks-for-schools-identifies-485-for-additional-help/492046621/