“Your hard work will pay off in the long run.”
This is a cliché, but it’s worth repeating. I’ve murmured it many, many times – most recently in conversations with my children, their teachers and others who have committed themselves to improving educational opportunities in my community.
Now that we’re embedded in an era of high-stakes standardized testing, it’s clichés like this that have to be whispered over and over again, especially for those toiling away in classrooms, schools and districts whose test scores are not glowing.
I dread when Minnesota publishes the results from its standardized tests, because the results for my school and district never seem to reflect what I believe to be a monumental investment of effort, resources, heart and soul by all – children, teachers, parents, administrators, the community – to positively impact learning and, as a byproduct, our test scores.
This summer’s release of scores was no different, except that I’m now working at MCF and have a heightened awareness of the investment that grantmakers also are making.
For our current issue of Giving Forum, I interviewed 25 people who work at grantmaking organizations, and every one of them talked about the critical need to impact the achievement, access and opportunity gaps in our schools. They passionately described the variety of nonprofits and initiatives they support and how those endeavors are creating change – both immediate and long-term, both individually and system-wide and throughout the state. They acknowledged that, while the challenges are daunting, they are hopeful and confident that what can be done to support one student in realizing his or her educational goals can be done for all.
Earlier this week, Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments II science exam results were published. While the Star Tribune’s headline proclaimed students’ “dramatic gains,” a paragraph toward the end of the article noted that every ethnic subgroup improved, but, “That said, as the scores rose, the white/black achievement gap also grew slightly, by about three to four percentage points in all three grades.” Nothing more was explained.
Contrary to the Star Tribune, the Pioneer Press’ headline said students “fall short in science.” In the midst of its article, the paper elaborated on the achievement gap evident in the test scores, saying “As for ethnic subgroups, all showed gains at all three grade levels [the test was given in grades three, five and in high school], though the familiar gap between the performance of whites and other students persists.
At each grade level, white students scored highest as a group and black students lowest. The biggest difference was in high school, where 56 percent of white students met or exceeded standards, compared with 17 percent of black students. Asian students, along with whites, posted the greatest improvements.”
I read this again and again. Fifty-six percent compared to 17 percent? Not mentioned in either of these articles is that Minnesota is home to one of the largest achievement gaps in the U.S., according to the “Education Watch State Report” published by Education Trust.
A comment posted on my blog of last week about education and philanthropy in Minnesota focused on the importance of funders knowing about programs that are making a positive impact in supporting African American students and efforts to improve their performance on standardized tests. In light of the newly released snapshot of test scores, which cannot possibly reflect all the work that is happening community-wide to tackle some almost-overwhelming challenges, it’s critical that promising initiatives be supported and sustained.
So, let me use this blog to acknowledge all the hard work being done by funders, educators, nonprofits, students, parents and community members. It will pay off in the long run.
- Chris Murakami Noonan, MCF communications associate
