Five years ago, Minneapolis’ North High was on the brink of closure. MPS Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson changed her mind, in the face of community protest, and invested in turning around the school. This month, 50 seniors earned their diplomas, reports the Star Tribune in a story on the “comeback” school.
Beth Hawkins congratulates the graduates and points out some inconvenient truths: “Of the 63 members of the 2017 class who took a state reading exam in 10th grade, seven—or 11 percent—passed. Of the 54 juniors who took the math test the next year, four—or 7.4 percent—passed.”
A Star-Trib graph shows the graduation rate rising from 42 percent to 82 percent from 2014 to 2016, notes Hawkins, but the story doesn’t report the 2017 graduation rate. It also doesn’t report that “graduation rates all over the state rose” after Minnesota abolished its exit exam.
It does note that the composite score of the 70 North students who took the college entrance ACT exam last year was 15.7. It’s amazing that 70 Polars took the ACT—really and truly. But that score is more than six points lower than the 22 that’s generally accepted as college-ready and more than five points lower than the score Minnesota State looks for.
In short, North High is getting students to graduation without the reading and math skills they’ll need to succeed in college — or in job training programs.
