Don’t throw out profiles
Having students graduate with practical knowledge based on standards in all schools throughout the state is at the heart of the Profiles of Learning.
This measure is caught up in philosophical and political controversy in the conference committee of the state legislature.
At stake for some is the local versus the state control of education.
The profiles, or high grad standards as they are sometimes called, came about because the legislature desired to have uniform educational standards and accountability for teaching those standards.
The Legislature requires every graduate of this year to pass the basic skills test in mathematics and reading.
This year’s sophomores, however, will be required to pass the state-mandated, ninth-grade level math, reading and writing test plus 24 of the 48 standards.
Within the profiles are the content standards with which there is local flexibility to teach and assess them.
Some legislators and many educators oppose the profiles because they require too much paper work to administer.
Some Republican legislators would scrap the profiles in favor of a completely local control of the curriculum.
The consensus, however, appears to favor keeping what’s good about the profiles and perhaps reduce the number to graduate.
The Minnesota Department of Children Families and Learning favors a two-year hold-harmless period, which would not require the passing of the 24 profiles to graduate for present freshmen and sophomores. The delay in mandating the standards for graduates of two years from now makes sense.
A department spokesperson said too many schools rushed into the profiles when the legislature offered a $14 per pupil increase to use them in 1998.
One major benefit of the standards is a coordinated curriculum within the individual school system and a uniform standards throughout the state.
In the past, schools have been criticized for students’ inability to solve problems from facts they’ve learned.
Educational reform never comes easily. Legislators and school administrators should stay the course and maintain the standards.
Throwing out the standards would be a major setback to students and parents who believe state-wide standards and accountability through good assessment is worth the political turmoil.
