Putting a rare bit of good news into perspective

Today’s story about the ACT scores in Duluth out performing Minnesota should be understood for what they likely are – a testament to the work of the Schools for the last decade.

Test scores for an entire student body are a bit like big ships. It takes forever for them to make turns. Our ACT test scores have led the state for a long time. The students taking the ACT tests are the oldest students who have been in our schools for ages. They would not leave their friends and the District in the last couple years of school.

As we lose our most ambitious students to other districts and find our operational levy straining we can expect the ACT test results to inexorably retreat. Bricks and mortar will not prop them up.

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