The latest Minneapolis public schools scorecard shows it has made only slight gains in student achievement and some student groups are struggling even more to meet state standards.
Overall achievement scores in math and reading stayed virtually the same for the district as whole. The scorecard also shows that the number of students receiving a 21 or higher on the ACT dropped by 3 percent.
The scorecard allows the public to take a deep dive into the district's MCA scores, ACT scores and graduation rates by race, income and other demographic information.
But one trend shown in the scorecard is inaccurate, district officials said. The scorecard shows that middle-class Somali children are the lowest performing group in math, with only 11 percent of them meeting standards. The scorecard shows that same group was 51 percent proficient in the 2012-13 school year.
Eric Moore, the district's director of Research, Evaluation and Assessment, said some 200 Somali students were eligible for free and reduced lunch that did not have that status at the time that they took the standardized test.
Despite the error, the district still experienced a 25 percent drop in the number of middle-class Somali children who meet math standards. The dip was caused by roughly 12 students, Moore said.
"I've looked into that data, and it's a problem," said outgoing school board member Mohamud Noor. The district is not adding resources to address the needs of students who are new to the country, a population that is almost entirely Somali.
The school district is equipped with data systems that allow officials to pinpoint exactly where they are losing ground in achievement. That has led to targeted initiatives for certain groups of students. But Noor said the district should be doing more to address the achievement of all students of color.
