St. Cloud Metro Low-Income, Minority and English Learner Students Struggling to Meet State Test Standards

ST. CLOUD -- The St. Cloud Metro saw a high rate of students not meeting state testing standards among minority, low-income and English learners demographics.

According to the Minnesota Report Card, St. Cloud Metro school district's "do not meet standards" rates break down like this overall for the "all-students" demographic:

• District 742: 40.2% in Math, 35.0% in Reading, and 36.6% in Science.
• Sauk Rapids - Rice: 18.5% in Math, 20.7% in Reading, and 25.6% in Science.
• Sartell - St. Stephen: 8.5% in Math, 9.5% in Reading, and 10.6% in Science.

When the different test scores are broken down by demographics, the differences are large. When it comes to the St. Cloud Metro's rates among African American students on free and reduced lunches:

ST CLOUD AREA PUBLIC SCHOOLS -

SARTELL - ST. STEPHEN -

SAUK RAPIDS - RICE -

The rates among the "English Learners" demographic see a similar spike when compared to the overall demographic:

ST CLOUD AREA PUBLIC SCHOOLS -

SARTELL - ST STEPHEN -

SAUK RAPIDS - RICE -

Among the area's schools, Sartell - St. Stephen's students showed better performance according to the data, followed by Sauk Rapids - Rice and District 742.

St. Cloud Area Public Schools are starting the “Achievement Integration Plan," which is a three year plan with the goal of closing the gap between students in St. Cloud.

St. Cloud Area School District Assistant Superintendent Marsha Baisch says the district did see gains in specific sites. Clearview, Kennedy, Oak Hill and Westwood Elementary all had rates at or above the state average in all three assessment areas.

Sartell - St. Stephen School District Superintendent Jeff Schwiebert shared this on the release of the state's test scores and how his district performed.

"We have a tradition of excellence in our district and the fact our students continue to perform above state averages is a point of pride."

Sauk Rapids - Rice School District has not put out a statement related to the MCA results.