As Minnesota considers a new push to win federal funds, the state lands largely with a thud in a report on K-12 education by a respected national magazine.

The report issued Tuesday by Education Week graded the states in six categories and gave Minnesota an overall mark of C, placing it 36th among the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Minnesota got a D+ on "efforts to improve teaching" and ranked 39th in that category. That result was actually a carryover from last year's Quality Counts report, but it still comes at an especially inopportune time. New Gov. Mark Dayton has said Minnesota might try again for federal Race to the Top funds, which it failed to land last year, in part because it wasn't seen as doing enough to improve teaching in the state.

In the Quality Counts report, the state was faulted, in part, for not having incentives for teachers and principals to work in schools where they are especially needed, having elementary school student-to-teacher ratios that are higher than 15-to-1, and not having required time set aside for teacher professional development. The study also faulted the state for not requiring "substantial coursework" in teachers' subject areas. On the plus side, the state was cited for publishing the results of teacher training programs, having a pay-for-performance program for teachers, and for requiring teachers to take basic academic skills tests in order to get their initial licenses.

The state fared better in other Quality Counts categories. In "chance for success," which looks at the link between education and outcomes from early childhood into adulthood, Minnesota got a B+ and eighth-place ranking. On K-12 achievement, the state had a C, but was ninth in the nation, which had only a D+ average.

The report, which had a special theme of the impact of the economy on education, also graded states in school finance, school standards and efforts to connect K-12 education with early learning, higher ed and the work world.

'Not satisfied'

"We're not satisfied with getting a C," said new Minnesota Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius, referring to the state's overall grade. "I can tell you we don't want to go backward. ... This is just one more report. It's a reflection of the policies in place. It's one more piece of information that tells us why we have to look at a reform-minded agenda with more funding for schools."

As for the D+ in the teaching improvement category, Cassellius said: "That's not an indictment of Minnesota teachers. ... It's really more about the policies to support teaching and learning."

Minnesota was found in the report to have spent less in 2008 per pupil -- $10,048 -- than the national average -- $10,297 -- and was assigned a C- grade for how well it connected K-12 education with preschool training and higher education.

Some educators considered the rankings unfair.

"I'm very surprised," said Laurie Resch, Anoka-Hennepin schools director of elementary curriculum, instruction and assessment, of the D+ on efforts to improve teaching. "I don't think this really reflects what's going on in Anoka-Hennepin presently. There is a great deal of professional development that is occurring. Presently, we have been able to maintain high-quality professional development. If that were not to be the case, that would certainly be an area of concern."

"I think it's simplistic, but important," said Lisa Jones, executive director of the Educator Development and Research Center at the University of Minnesota's College of Education and Human Development. "I say it's important, because we need to know where we are in comparison with other states. But what makes effective teaching doesn't always have to do with policy. Policy can help, but it's only one layer. It's like taking a four-layer cake and picking out the icing, and not looking at the whole cake."

Jones cited a program about to be launched at the U that uses Bush Foundation grant money and would expand teacher training to include more emphasis on teaching to individual learning styles and forming partnerships with school districts to continue observation, training and assessment of teacher performance even after the teachers have graduated and are working in schools.

The report assessed school working conditions for teachers as part of its "efforts to improve teaching" category, and found Minnesota lacking in all four areas. In addition to having elementary school student-to-teacher ratios of 15:1 or less, those include: having programs to reduce or limit class size, tracking the condition of school facilities and posting teacher-level survey findings on school climate and working conditions. According to the report, 24 states have initiatives in place to reduce or limit class size.

"Class size is certainly an ongoing issue in regard to funding education," Resch said. "We are not able to meet that ratio. I'm not sure any district in Minnesota is able to do that, given the present state budget."

Education Minnesota teachers union president Tom Dooher could not be reached for comment on the report.

Dayton said last week that he wants the state to reapply for the Race to the Top funds, even though those states awarded funding already have been announced. Last year, the state lost a shot at $330 million in Race to the Top funds because, among other things, the state wasn't able to present in its funding application a plan to develop quality educators and didn't have the support of Education Minnesota as well as many individual school district unions.

Staff writer Kelly Smith contributed to this report.

Norman Draper • 612-673-4547