Another voice has been heard in the debate over whether Minnesota's education system is nation-leading or is simply average.
In its yearly "Technology Counts" survey, the respected publication Education Week gives Minnesota an average grade for how it supplies and uses technology in schools. In one category, Minnesota almost flunks.
The report does not issue overall grades for the states. Instead, it gives grades in policies related to the use of technology for learning, policies designed to increase educators' capacity to use technology and student access to technology. Minnesota ranked below the national average in the first two areas and above the national average in only student access to technology.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Minnesota routinely topped state comparisons. Many Minnesotans still believe the state ranks near the top of these surveys and indicators, but consider this:
- A report by Education Week released in January found Minnesota below average in four of six educational categories;
- Minnesota's student-to-teacher ratio is 40th in the nation;
- The average Minnesota first-year teacher salary is 25th in the nation;
- Minnesota ranked 45th in U.S. News & World Report's list of top high schools;
- The ratio of school counselors to students was 49th in the nation;
- In 1996-97 Minnesota ranked 21st in total spending per $1, 000 in personal income. By 2005-06, the state dropped to 41st in that category.
Minnesota is no longer among the educational elite. This week's Education Week report on technology emphasizes that statement.
The publication first examined the use of technology in schools. States were graded on whether their standards include technology (Minnesota's does), if the state tests students on technology (Minnesota does not), has established a virtual school (Minnesota has not), and offers computer-based assessments (Minnesota does). Nine states - Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, and West Virginia - earned a perfect score. The District of Columbia received the only F. Minnesota received a B-, just under the national average of a B.
The U.S. has an average of 3.8 students per instructional computer while Minnesota has an average of 3.7 students per computer. South Dakota provided the greatest access with a student-to-computer ratio of 2-to-1. In Utah, Delaware, California, Mississippi and Rhode Island, five or more students shared every computer.
