Local Lawmaker, Teachers Union React to Disappointing Test Scores

(KNSI) – A central Minnesota lawmaker blasts the state’s latest test results while educators offer solutions as students post scores on standardized tests below pre-pandemic levels.

Minnesota Representative Ron Kresha of Little Falls is the Republican lead on the Education Finance Committee. He says the assessments show students are continuing to struggle. “These scores tell us what we have known for years – that Governor Walz and DFL policies and priorities on education are wrong for our students, parents, and communities. Governor Walz likes to brag about what will not happen on ‘his watch,’ but this is what we know is not happening on his watch. Third graders are not learning to read – they are falling further behind.”

Kersha said teachers must focus on the fundamentals necessary to succeed in the classroom. He wants a return to the Science of Reading and to give districts more local control.

Education Minnesota Vice President Monica Byron says standardized tests are an incomplete look at performance.

She says the state must remedy the shortage of trained teachers to increase classroom grades. “Too many Minnesota schools are operating without sufficient numbers of well-trained teachers, mental health teams and education support professionals because the pay, pensions and other benefits aren’t attracting and retaining enough good people.”

Byron says the Legislature made historic investments in public education, student mental health and diversifying the teacher workforce, but most of the new money wasn’t earmarked. She says many school districts still need to decide how to spend it.

The Minnesota Department of Education released its 2023 North Star Accountability report on Thursday, with the state’s latest test results. The overall scores showed little change from the previous year, with a 1% increase in math, a 1% decrease in reading and a 2% drop in science scores. Scores on each assessment are about 10% below pre-pandemic levels.

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