“The share of Minnesota eight graders failing to meet basic reading achievement standards edged up to the highest level on record in 2024, according to national benchmark test results released this [last] week.”
The data is derived from the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), a national benchmark test that “showed that 29% of Minnesota eighth graders failed to demonstrate a minimum level of reading ability.” Looking back ten years ago, only 19% of Minnesota eighth graders failed to show reading proficiency on the NAEP tests.
Math proficiency numbers also continued their downward trend in Minnesota: 29% of Middle School students failed to meet basic benchmarks for their grade level. For prospective: “The number of Minnesota eighth graders rated “proficient” at reading fell to 28%, the lowest level on record. That number has fallen by 12 percentage points since 2015.”
So, while Minnesota taxpayers have funded a tsunami of new funding for K-12 education in the last budget, our school-aged children remain mired in government-run and union-controlled schools that continue a downward march. You can read more about the NAEP assessment results HERE.
Voters who participated in the 2024 elections sent a powerful message to anyone listening: they are unhappy with the lack of leadership in St. Paul and especially when it comes to keeping their families safe and teaching their kids to read and write. Parents are done funding schools more concerned about helping kids choose their pronouns than teaching them the basic skills to allow them to succeed in life.
More money and more pearl clutching at the Capitol aren’t getting the job done. It’s time for Walz and his union allies in the legislature to get out of the way and allow new solutions to this heart-breaking (and old) problem – before we lose another generation to schools that can’t get the job done.