For more information, contact:
Megan Boldt
651-292-4818 (work)
651-245-9163 (cell)

Chris Williams
651-292-4816 (work)
651-247-5539 (cell)

ST. PAUL, Minn., April 21, 2015 - Education Minnesota President Denise Specht released the following statement in response to the Minnesota Department of Education’s decision Tuesday to suspend administration of the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments due to technical problems.

“This is the appropriate response to the continuous technical problems our students have encountered over the past week. It also raises significant questions about what this means for using these test scores for accountability measures like school rankings and teacher evaluations,” Specht said.

“Educators already know this relentless emphasis on high-stakes testing is taking away time from learning. This should serve as wake-up call to legislators and members of Congress that our overreliance on using test scores is a flawed way to measure schools.”

About Education Minnesota

Education Minnesota represents 70,000 professionals working together for excellence in education for all students. Education Minnesota’s members include teachers and education support professionals in Minnesota’s public school districts, faculty members at Minnesota’s community and technical colleges and University of Minnesota campuses in Duluth and Crookston, retired educators and student teachers. Education Minnesota is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association and AFL-CIO.