Why Minnesota can be proud but still determined about its ACT performance

Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius tells the Star Tribune what Minnesota has to do despite leading all other states in the ACT college admissions test performance for the eighth year in a row:

“We absolutely have to always address the achievement gap.”

The paper explains:

According to the results to be released Wednesday, 61 percent of the state’s white students reached the minimum college-readiness benchmarks in at least three of the four subjects tested, up from 59 percent a year ago. Black students who met the same standard remained at 16 percent. … American Indian, Asian and Hispanic students also saw the gaps widen between themselves and white students on the college-readiness front, the results show.

Read the full report above and the Star Tribune article here.

About the blogger

Alex Friedrich

afriedrich@mpr.org

Alex Friedrich reports on higher education issues for MPR News. Among the stories he has covered: the fall of the Berlin Wall, aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis, 2003 Moscow suicide bombing and 2004 presidential elections in the Republic of Georgia. He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Georgia and a master’s in European political economy from the London School of Economics.