The Minnesota Department of Education publishes an annual “Report Card” for all public schools and school districts. Included in this are many different data points or sets and what one might term “measures” for schools and districts — things like a school’s demographics, seeing if students attend school regularly, understanding how students are doing on standardized tests, information about the staff working in schools, whether students feel safe or engaged, and how many students are graduating and going on to postsecondary.

We utilize the MDE’s report card for a variety of activities and tasks, largely in our efforts for continuous improvement in the educational opportunities we are able to provide for all of our roughly 2,600 students in early childhood through 12th grade. The data provided by the MDE in this year’s report card illustrates many, many positive aspects of measures for MPS.

While the results on the MDE report card vary each year, I am excited about the positive information shared by the MDE in their most recent version.

• In MPS, 96% of our students consistently attend school, compared to 85% of students statewide.

• 95% of MPS students feel that adults listen to them, which is 6% higher than students statewide feel listened to.

• Statewide, 94% of students feel safe at school — that is similar to students in MPS, where 97% feel safe.

• Over 75% of our students care about doing well in school “all of the time,” which is 7% higher than what students in the rest of the state indicate.

• 41% of students indicate that teachers in MPS are interested in them as a person, which compares to only 34% of students in Minnesota reporting that same interest.

• 44% of students in MPS feel that school rules are fair, while 39% of their peers statewide feel the same way.

• We have a 12-to-1 student to licensed staff ratio, which is better than the state average of 13-to-1.

• Student achievement in math in MPS is nearly 7% higher than student achievement in the state, and student achievement in reading in our district is nearly 2% higher than student achievement in the state.

• Student progress on the state math assessments from one year to the next in MPS was over 10% higher than student progress for the rest of the state [24% of MPS students improved their achievement level, compared to only 13% statewide].

• Our English Learner students’ “average progress toward target” outpaced the state’s average, 66% to 61%.

• 71% of MPS graduates enrolled in higher education within 16 months — this figure is 8% higher than the state average.

While we have many things to celebrate from the Minnesota Report Card, we also know that we have areas for improvement and room for growth. For example:

• We have identified student subgroups that we recognize we need to continue to work with/for to help all of them achieve their goals and make the type of progress that they need to.

• We recognize that our staff demographics don’t mirror our student demographics. A goal in our district’s Strategic Plan is to attract and retain a diverse and qualified teaching staff.

• Our 4-year graduation rate provides an opportunity to look at what we are doing to get and keep students on track to graduate with their peers.

No matter how positive of information is on the MDE’s report card, we continue to look for ways to get even better at our mission to “educate, support, and prepare all learners for success.”

The annual report card for the Marshall Public School District can be found at: http://rc.education.state.mn.us/#mySchool/orgId–10413000000__groupType–district__p–3.

As I shared earlier, I am excited about the results on the most recent Minnesota Department of Education Report Card for our district, primarily because I know how hard our students, staff, and families work! I can be reached at scott.monson@marshall.k12.mn.us or at 507-537-6924. Thank you for taking time to read this and for the support shown for the Marshall Public School District. Go Tigers!