Today’s Trib has two stories about public schools. The second story notes that many if not most Minnesota schools are failing to advertise the availability of PSEO or Post Secondary Educational Options to students. The Duluth schools have partially complied. This is a big deal for two reasons. high school students can earn college credit (that’s the post secondary part) while still in high school. It can save them big bucks by eliminating tuition payments for those classes later.
Its a big deal to local schools for another reason. They have to help reimburse colleges for the college’s costs. This has been true forever. My daughter and her friends took advantage of PSEO classes fifteen years ago. Its one more drain on District finances and makes Advanced Placement classes more financially appealing to public schools. If their teachers can win accreditation to offer classes that will be accepted by colleges the Districts can avoid paying the colleges for the college’s faculty.
As the story notes its not perhaps surprising that some public schools are a little lethargic about advertising an option what will send their students and their financing off to other educational venues.
The first story isolated one of the most damning revelations about last years students MCA (Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment) test results. Our minority students are falling further behind our non minority students.
We spent an hour discussing the tests. Bill Westholm, Art Johnston and I asked a lot of questions of Dr. Lake. I began by noting that we have changed the tests we give students several times since I was first elected to the Board twenty years ago. I expressed my frustration that because of this I can’t compare today’s students with students any further back than five or six years ago.
All this data we generate with our ever changing tests offers up a new slogan for educators, “ignorance is bliss.”
