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ST. PAUL, Minn., Feb. 24, 2015 – Education Minnesota President Denise Specht responded Tuesday to the presentation of new graduation rates by the Minnesota Department of Education.

“The steady rise of the graduation rates is a credit to the hard work of Minnesota students, parents, educators and policy makers,” Specht said. “There’s still much more to do, but we’re slowly closing gaps by race and poverty and for English learners. The trends are good.”

“The graduation rate is a better measure of a school system than standardized test scores. Chasing test scores often makes school boring by turning test prep into a priority and pressuring schools to cut back on non-tested subjects like physical and vocational education and the arts. But a focus on graduation rates challenges educators in all subjects to keep students curious, engaged and studying from pre-K to graduation day,” Specht said.

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