Edina Schools Post High Scores on Accountability Tests

According to new data released Tuesday by the Minnesota Department of Education based on the state's new accountability system, Edina Public Schools are doing quite well.

Minnesota is using the new Multiple Measurement Ratings (MMR) after being freed from the No Child Left Behind system through the state's waiver. MDE officials claim the MMR system provides a "fairer, more accurate accountability system" to Minneota schools.

Edina schools fared quite well under the new system, with every single one scoring above 75 percent of possible points on the MMR scale.

received the highest MMR score (95.78), followed by (93.48), (92.51) and (91.67). Even the lowest performers in the district were still ahead of the curve, with turning in a respectable 75.56 rating.

Jenni Norlin-Weaver, Edina's director of teaching & learning, said the district is pleased with the results and appreciates the MDE's new approach to holding schools accountable.

"I'm encouraged we're making some shifts in looking at the way we measure schools," she said.

That said, she noted Edina Public Schools has never placed a lot of stock in any one measure. She mentioned the recent rankings by and as two other examples of ways people try to judge the success of districts.

"We'll continue to look at the variety of ways people evaluate our work and continue to move forward as a district," Norlin-Weaver said.

Commissioner of Education Brenda Cassellius said the system better assesses how schools are truly doing, which will help identify where to direct resources.

"Rather than relying on a failed system that doled out punitive labels and didn’t tell the whole story about schools, today we’re recognizing our high performing schools and making a commitment to stand beside those schools most in need," Cassellius said in a release.

The MMR system looks at four areas in calculating an overall rating:

• Proficiency: Incorporates the existing adequate yearly progress measurement, with results broken down into different student subgroups.
• Student growth: Measures how much schools helped students improve from one year to the next.
• Achievement gap closure: Measures the ability of schools to coax faster growth from traditionally underperforming subgroups by comparing the growth of the lower-performing groups at a school to the statewide average for higher-performing subgroups. For example, students of color would be compared to white students or students receiving free and reduced lunches would be compared to those who are not receiving them.
• Graduation rate

State officials have said they hope the new focus will help close Minnesota's achievement gap—one of the highest in the U.S.—to half of its current level within six years.

Norlin Weaver said she likes the fact that the MMR incorporates four different, equally important measures.

"Any time you're trying to reflect 'the goodness' of something, using one measure probably doesn't get you there," Norlin-Weaver said. "We're doing what No Child Left Behind really intended to do, which is making sure that schools are attending to all students."

In addition, schools receiving federal Title I funding, or those that participate in the federal School Improvement Grant (SIG) program, are put into one of the following categories:

• Reward Schools: The top 15 percent of schools (127 schools) based on MMR scores
• Priority Schools: The bottom 5 percent of schools (42 schools) based on MMR scores
• Focus Schools: The bottom 10 percent of schools (85 schools) based on the achievement gap rating. 

In Edina, Cornelia and Creek Valley elementary schools are the only ones that receive Title I funds. Both were designated as Reward Schools by the MDE, with Cornelia scoring a 75.56 overall rating and Creek Valley a 91.67.

So what exactly does that mean? Under the new system, the MDE plans to recognize Reward Schools for their good work by sharing best practices taking place in their classrooms with other Minnesota schools. 

"I think it's great our Title I schools are getting some recognition," Norlin-Weaver said.

In August, the Department of Education will also announce which schools received two other designations.

• Celebration Schools: Strong-performing schools that didn’t receive the Reward School classification. Not much is known about this so-called "next 10 percent" of schools, although the department told school districts in February they’d have to apply for the honor.
• Continuous Improvement Schools: The bottom 25 percent of schools.

Check out the full list of Edina schools below:

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