News Day

Minnesota Compass on high school completion rates
http://www.mncompass.org/economyworkforce/key-measures.php?km=Educationalattainment#7-6895-g

I listened to The Daily Circuit on MPR Friday, with local “experts” debating what we should do about education (starting at about 37:16.) Peter Bell criticized Minnesota schools and repeatedly said, “The dropout rate in some districts is 50 percent.” He is absolutely, 100 percent dead wrong on the dropout rates, but nobody challenged him on the facts. Not the host. Not the other guests. Continue reading →

Saving girls from prostitution is a noble and worthy cause, as well as a bandwagon that many nonprofit groups and politicians are happy to ride. Unfortunately, the statistics offered by various groups are often self-contradictory and unsupported by research. Using unverified, contradictory and exaggerated numbers is a disservice to the cause of combating juvenile prostitution and human trafficking. Continue reading →

Among all the wild-eyed charges thrown about by Voter ID proponents, one stood out last week. That was the charge made by Ramsey County Commissioner candidate Sue Jeffers in a KFAI interview (about the 13-minute mark.) Continue reading →

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My husband, who refused to watch the debate, asked this morning what the “binders full of women” were. I hadn’t noted that phrase in Romney’s bragging points, so I had the same reaction last night when it began popping up all over Twitter last night. Romney used it in bragging about his record of appointing women when he was governor of Massachusetts, and sure enough — this morning’s fact checks show he misstated the facts. Continue reading →

I remember the very first televised debate, which makes me older than dirt. For years, I followed presidential politics, and debates, closely, but I haven’t watched a presidential debate in decades. So why tonight? Continue reading →

“Faith in the public schools has been steadily eroding since 1973. But are things really this dismal?” The answer, according to an article in the October 10 Education Week, is a resounding NO. Despite constant criticism and flagging public confidence, schools and students are steadily improving — and the number cited by MetaMetrics, an education research firm, back up their positive conclusion. Continue reading →

After all the hand-wringing about illegal voting, turns out that many people who have been convicted of crimes in Minnesota are still eligible to vote. That’s one of several interesting bits of information coming out of Minneapolis city council member Elizabeth Glidden’s early morning meeting September 28 on challenges facing individuals with a criminal record, and efforts to create fair hiring opportunities for those who have already served their time (more on that after the jump.) Continue reading →

What is the dollar value of saving one adolescent girl from a pimp? What about four, or five or 381? How much are we, as a state, willing or able to pay? Continue reading →

SAT reading scores hit a four-decade low trumpets the Washington Post headline. That means one point lower than last year. The average reading score dropped from 497 to 496. Is that even statistically significant? Continue reading →

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has published its 2011 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics. With 109 of its114 pages devoted to tables of immigration numbers, it’s not coffee-table reading. Here’s what it says about Minnesota immigrants: Continue reading →