by Joe Nathan

We have things to work on, but Minnesota’s school improvement efforts do not deserve a “D.”

That’s my reaction to a national report by StudentsFirst (SF) on improving education that gives Minnesota a “D” for our education laws and policies.

StudentsFirst is a new organization founded by former Washington D.C. Superintendent of Schools Michelle Rhee.   Rhee is committed to closing achievement gaps and helping all students be more successful. She’s blunt, controversial and I think sometimes wrong.  The overall report, and the section on Minnesota, can be found at http://reportcard.studentsfirst.org/.

The report acknowledges that in math, Minnesota fourth graders rank third, and Minnesota eighth graders rank second in the country on the well-respected National Assessment of Education Progress.  (Minnesota’s fourth graders rank 21st in reading on this test, while eighth graders rank ninth on that test).  The report does not include recently released data showing that more than 25 states have a higher high school graduation rate than we do, and that Minnesota has among the nation’s largest graduation gaps.  We have things to be proud of and things to work on.

But many of the report’s assertions are, to put it mildly, questionable.  For example, Minnesota, home of Post Secondary Options, open enrollment, charter public schools, and options created by local districts, received a “D-“ for efforts to “Empower Parents.”   SF insists that Minnesota:

• “Must grade its schools on an A-F letter system based on student achievement data.”

• “Require parental consent if a student is placed with an ineffective teacher.”

• “Give parents the authority to petition local school districts to turn around failing schools,” and

• “Create a publicly financed scholarship program for low-income students in chronically failing public schools to attend private schools.”

Many parents have asked me how to compare schools. The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) does provide helpful data on its web page. For example, school rankings include trends in test scores, how much the school has closed achievement gaps for its students, graduation rates and other information. It’s also possible to compare schools, using this data. But information about schools could be more comprehensive and easier to find.  (Full disclosure – MDE gives our organization funds to help share information about Dual High School/College Credit courses).

Bottom line, I don’t think we need an “A-F” grading system.  And while there is not space to discuss them, I don’t think either the parent petition or voucher ideas will help solve many problems.

While disagreeing with many of SF’s recommendations, I think it hired a wise woman, former State Sen. Kathy Saltzman, a Democrat, as its state director. Saltzman worked with former state Sen. Gen Olson to help improve reading instruction.  And she helped make thoughtful improvements in charter school accountability.  I hope that Saltzman will be able to focus on things that will help students and schools.

Joe Nathan, formerly a public school teacher and administrator, directs the Center for School Change. Reactions are welcome, and he can be reached at joe@centerforschoolchange.org.

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MN Sen. Scott Dibble with winner Denisse Sanchez.

by Joe Nathan

Jack Wickenhauser, De’shawnte Taylor, Vincent Smith Jr. and Denisse Sanchez are eloquent young people.  They recently earned honors in a statewide Minnesota charter public school writing contest that attracted more than 2,200 entries.  Whether you are an educator or parent, I think you’ll learn a lot if you ask youngsters this question at the end of the year.

Wickenhauser, a seventh grader from Cologne Academy, wrote that his best day “was every day since the end of February. “ He started staying “after school by choice” to “help watch the little kids…I mostly look after one kid who has ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) because I know what it’s like.  I try to help him to do the best…When I look in his eyes I see a younger me.”

De’shawnte Taylor  of Excell Academy in Brooklyn Park described the day an essay he wrote for the “D.A.R.E” program won a first place award.  “My mom came to the school to watch our D.A.R.E. graduation.  I felt so happy when I first saw her.  I gave her a huge hug.   It was very special because it showed me that she cared about me.”

Taylor’s essay was a forceful reminder that some of the most important things families can do for their youngsters don’t involve spending money on them…showing up can make a huge difference.

MN Sen. Sandra Pappas with K-2 award-winner.

Another powerful essay by a St. Paul second grader contained a surprise.  Vincent Smith Jr. of Urban Academy  believes his best day in school was when “I got suspended for punching a classmate.  I had not been behaving well in school.  I have been rude.  I have been talking and fighting instead of working.…”

He continued, “Getting suspended got me thinking.  My Dad is in prison but he often calls me.  He is good but he did something bad. I figured I was the same. I am good but I do bad things. Being bad is not cool.  The day I got suspended was my best day because it helped me change.  Now I stay away from trouble…It feels great to be a leader and not a follower.”

Wah Nay Moo, a sixth grader at the College Prep Elementary (CPE) earned top honors in her division.  She described the first day she attended CPE, in September, 2011.  “Prior to this day, I had never attended school in America. I had my first experience learning with materials that were in good shape, unlike my school materials in Thailand that were over 30 years old.”

Finally, Denisse Sanchez, a Minneapolis tenth grader earned first place among high school students.  Formerly, “I hated school and had all F’s.”  Then she and her English class read an essay by James Baldwin.  It reminded her that “Mom and Dad never finished high school and now are living the life of poverty….I want something bigger and better in life…the only way to do that is to get an education.”

Several leading state legislators, including Senate President Sandy Pappas and Senator Scott Dibble welcomed the students to the Capitol.

TCF Foundation co-sponsored the writing contest, and provided cash awards for the best essays. To see humor, honesty, insight and courage, read the winning essays at www.centerforschoolchange.org.

Joe Nathan, formerly a public school teacher and administrator, directs the Center for School Change. Reactions are welcome, and he can be reached at joe@centerforschoolchange.org.

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by Joe Nathan

BEST Academy “has an impressive record of educating Black boys at the highest levels of achievement, outperforming all other schools in Minneapolis and across the state… BEST academy is a beacon of success and achievement.” — Minneapolis Public Schools Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson

Why has a national group that identifies outstanding district and charter public schools, whether district or charter, just selected BEST Academy in Minneapolis as one of the nation’s most effective schools with African American boys? What are some common characteristics among the schools selected?  Here’s some of what I learned in talking with officials at three of the five schools recently recognized, as well as the national organization’s director.

Ron Walker, director of the National Coalition, is a veteran of 42 years in public education. He’s been an urban teacher and principal, and won numerous awards for his work.

Walker wisely is not interested in debates about which is better, district or chartered public school.  “We focus on our mission: to identify schools that are succeeding, whether district or charter, with young men of color. We want to inspire, strengthen, support and connect school leaders who are dedicated to the social, emotional and academic development of boys and young men of color. “

The national Coalition of Schools Educating Boys of Color was established with support from the Open Society Institute established by George Soros. Three of the schools the Coalition recognized late last month are district public schools. Two are charter public schools.

Jeffrey Hassan of the African American Leadership Forum and Superintendent Johnson of Minneapolis each wrote letters urging the Coalition to recognize BEST.

Part of Hassan’s letter referred to his grandson, Malik, who attended Best Academy.

“When Malik entered Best Academy in the 5th grade, he was scoring in the 60th percentile in statewide reading and math assessments.   By the time he graduated from Best Academy in the 8th grade, he was scoring in the 90th percentile in both reading and math.   In fact, his 8th grade all boys class scored 100% proficient on the statewide Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment reading test, and scored in the 80th percentile in math -  almost 50% higher than the statewide average.

When Malik entered high school in the 9th grade he tested out of 9th grade math and English, and was placed in advance level classes.”

Hassan volunteered time at BEST.  He explained, “We were able to see first-hand the caring and nurturing environment for the children and the high expectations both educationally and morally that were requested of the children.”

He concluded, “I don’t believe that we can find a better example anywhere  in this country of the dedication, determination and studied approach necessary to teach boys in general, and African-American boys in particular.

In addition to the comments cited above, Minneapolis Public Schools Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson wrote that because of the school’s success, “Minneapolis Public Schools has recently initiated a partnership to replicate the best practices in four ‘Mastery’ schools over the next decade.”

The national Coalition recently honored BEST and four other schools, three of which are district public schools.  One of those district schools is Salk Elementary in Merrillville, Indiana.  Located about 45 miles south of downtown Chicago, Salk enrolls about 650 students, grades K-4.  About 60 percent of the student body is from low-income families, 46 percent are African American, 25 percent are white, 18 percent are Hispanic and the rest, “mixed.”

Principal Kara Bonin, a 22 year veteran of public education, told me that “culture and climate are key” to the progress that the school has shown.  “We model and encourage students to be respectful, be responsible and be safe.”  The school uses videos to help students understand what respectful, responsible behavior looks like.

Test scores are important at the school. The principal noted that 97 percent of students are passing the state’s tests.

But at Salk, “character also is very important.” The school has an extensive community service. Students have, for example raised money for a children’s hospital and carried out food drives.

The school also honors student progress.  Bonin pointed out that “Every Monday we have a school wide meeting where we celebrate student achievements.”

Similar things are happening at another district public school that the Coalition honored, Devonshire Elementary in Charlotte, North Carolina.  Principal Suzanne Gimenez, who has been an educator for more than 40 years ago, was asked to transfer to the school five years ago.  Ninety-six percent of the mostly African American students are from low-income families.

The Coalition noted that the percentage of students at or above grade level on North Carolina’s math test has increased from 41.5% in 2008 to 93.1%.  The percent at or above grade level in reading increased from 43.9 to 64.4.

What accounts for the Devonshire’s continuing improvement over the last five years?

Gimenez pointed to several factors.  These included “celebrating student progress and success,” using an approach developed at Harvard to regularly visit classrooms and provide feedback to faculty, providing “lots of staff development about how to earn students’ respect and build relationships, and using data to refine and improve what’s happening in classrooms.”

The school also offers family a choice within the school.  Their children can either be in a classroom with young men and women, or “gender-based” classrooms (all young men or all young women).”

BEST also is an option for families.  Within a group of buildings in North Minneapolis, families can choose, among others BEST, a K-8 school enrolling about 240 students, “Sister Academy” or Harvest (which enrolls young women and young men).

Latest Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) statistics show that 99.4 percent of BEST’s students are African American, and that 93 percent come from low-income families (Statewide, about 10% of Minnesota’s students are African American and 37 percent come from low-income families).

Latest MDE data also show that 77 percent of BEST students are proficient in math compared to 62 percent statewide.  Seventy-three percent of BEST are proficient in reading compared to 76 percent statewide.

In science, the percentage of BEST students who are proficient has increased from 17.9 percent to 43.3 percent since 2009.  Statewide, latest figures show 50.5 percent of students are proficient in science.  BEST Academy director Eric Mahmoud told me, “we are not satisfied with science.  We have more to do.” He pointed out that the most recent tests show that 56.8 percent of BEST 5th graders are proficient in science, compared to 57.7 statewide.

In words that are strikingly similar to what I heard from the other principals who were honored, Mahmoud also explained that, “probably the most important thing is to believe in the students’ capacity to learn and do great things.”

(Full disclosure – the Center for School Change, where I work, has partnered with BEST as part of a Cargill Foundation funded project over the last several years.)

With national recognition and local requests to expand, it appears that more youngsters will gain from the kind of culture, expectations and respect that Mahmoud and other honored principals see as vital for progress.

Minnesota Commissioner of Education Brenda Cassellius and Minneapolis Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson will join in honoring BEST Academy later this week: Friday, May 10, Heritage Park YMCA 5:15 – 7:30 (Program at 6 PM), 1015 4th Avenue North, Minneapolis, 55405.

Recently more than 600 people gathered in Chicago to honor the three schools mentioned above.  Also honored were Merrillville High School, a district high school in Indiana, and Thurgood Marshall Academy, a charter public school in Washington, D.C.   As the Coalition noted, “These five schools have demonstrated a consistent track record of achievement amongst their male students of color… They know that success is not an accident.”

Congratulations to the schools that were honored, and thanks to the Coalition for recognizing and sharing their success.

Joe Nathan, formerly a public school teacher and administrator, directs the Center for School Change. Reactions are welcome, and he can be reached at joe@centerforschoolchange.org.

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by Joe Nathan

Mindi Askelson of Riverland Community College calls it a “win-win-win” collaboration.  Scott Gengler of Irondale High School in Mounds View District reports it’s “very rewarding.”  John McDonald of Kingsland School District believes it’s “a better way of meeting student and family needs.”

Joe Nathan

“It” is the encouraging, growing collaboration between high schools and colleges providing greater challenge for students, while saving them and their families thousands, sometimes tens of thousands, of dollars.  Before graduating from high school, students earn free college credits, even a one-year career/technical certificate or two -year Associate Arts degree.

Bob Wedl, former Minnesota commissioner of education, recently recommended in a newspaper commentary  that we should:  “Abandon the 20th-century goal that high school graduates must be ready for postsecondary. The 21st-century goal must be that students will be well on their way to what they intend to do next with their lives when they exit high school. A redesigned system will have many students already completing a year of postsecondary learning or even an associate degree. Others will have completed their one-year career certifications.”

Last year I described a collaboration between Central Lakes College in Brainerd and the Long Prairie/Grey Eagle School District.  Students can earn enough credits in the high school to receive an A.A. degree before graduation.  Principal Paul Weinzierl explained: “This not only  helps us retain the funds, but also the leadership that some students take with them if they participate in Post-Secondary Enrollment Options.”

That 1985 law allows Minnesota 11th and 12th graders to take courses on college campuses, or “online” courses, full or part time, with state funds paying their tuition, books and lab fees.  Last year, PSEO was expanded.  Tenth graders now may take a career/technical course on a college campus.  Sophomores earning a “C” or higher, may take additional career/technical courses during their second semester.

Last year U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan visited and praised Irondale High School, which built on Long Prairie/Grey Eagle/Central Lakes collaboration.   Scott Gengler, Irondale principal, told me “the biggest takeaway so far is that we have far more kids capable of college level rigor than have participated (in dual high school/college credit courses) in the past.”

This means, for example, that some Irondale ninth graders take Advanced Placement courses.  Others start in the 10th, 11th or 12th grade. Some also take “Dual enrollment courses” developed in collaboration with Anoka-Ramsey Community College.  The school also has students taking “foundational classes” that help prepare them to take college level academic and or career technical classes.

Doing well means earning college credits.  Taking challenging courses also decreases changes students will have to take remedial courses on entering a post-secondary institution.  This is a huge, costly problem.  A report completed several years ago showed that at that time, more than half of the students entering the Minnesota’s two year public colleges had to take at least one remedial course in reading, writing or math.

Richard Rosivac, in his 15th year of teaching, helps coordinate Irondale’s program.  For him, “this is not just about access, it’s about results.”  He reported that approximately 53 percent of the school’s 1,631 students are enrolled in one or more Dual Credit courses. “We expect that percentage to grow,” he said.

Meanwhile, at Kingsland High School, Superintendent John McDonald says about half of the high school’s 102 juniors and seniors are in one or more Dual Credit courses.  Starting fall, 2013, juniors can take enough courses to earn an A.A. Degree before high school graduation.  Students are taking both “Project Lead the Way” (applied “STEM”) courses, and courses from Riverland Community COllege.

Mindi Askelson, Riverland’s director of placement and K-12 relations, explained the partnership with Kingsland, and a growing number of other high schools.  Riverland faculty members are training and mentoring high school teachers to offer the college level courses.  Riverland faculty also offers college level courses “on-line” and via television.  She explained, “Providing a seamless transition between high school and college is one of the strategic values of the MnSCU system.”

For most students, this will mean taking college level courses while staying in their high school. However, as Askelson notes, ” for those academically and socially ready, we host Post-Secondary Options students on campus.”
Minnesota’s Department of Education, the Minnesota Office of Higher Education, and the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system are actively promoting these collaborations.  So is the University of Minnesota system.

Askelson is right.  These are win-win-win collaborations.

Joe Nathan, formerly a public school teacher and administrator, directs the Center for School Change. Reactions are welcome, and he can be reached at joe@centerforschoolchange.org.

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by Joe Nathan

People like John Benson, Fred Easter, Cam Hedlund, Dan Hoverman, Jay Haugen, Linda Madsen and Colleen Wambach are on the correct side of what I think is the most important debate of many in public education: The question is “Can we, right now, create a much more effective system for students and a much more satisfying system for educators?  These folks say “yes.”

Joe Nathan

Mounds View Superintendent Dan Hoverman and former Irondale High School Principal Colleen Wambach have helped demonstrate what’s possible.  They, and teachers in the district, created a program that allows a wide range of students at Irondale to earn an Associate Arts degree, while still in high school. This can save students and families thousands, even tens of thousands of dollars.

Last year U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan visited Irondale to praise and promote their efforts.  Mounds View received no federal, state or foundation grants to redesign their high school.  They used internal resources more effectively.

The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) has hired Wambach to help other public school districts and a charter public school do something similar.  She’s working with Fred Easter, a deeply committed, insightful urban educator/community activist.  (Full disclosure: MDE has asked the Center for School Change to work with them.)

They are working with, among others, Austin, Anoka, Brooklyn Center, Bloomington, Cook County, Mounds View and St. Paul districts, the  Bug-o-nay-ge-shig school, and El Colegio charter.  Each recognizes that  many high school students are ready for more active engagement, and challenge.

Several years ago, Long Prairie Grey Eagle High School Principal Paul Weinzierl, and Central Lakes College President Larry Lundblad created a program called “4+2.”  This collaboration already has produced  30 high school students who earned “A.A” degrees before graduating high school.

Former Little Falls, now Eden Prairie, Superintendent Curt Tryggestad recognized the incredible, daily-growing knowledge available online.  So he reallocated some of Little Falls’ textbook dollars to purchase iPads for secondary schools, and helped arrange training to help students and teachers make effective use of that money.

Farmington Superintendent Jay Haugen and his colleagues have created a brief YouTube video using cartoons to help explain the need for and possible features of  “A New Design.”  You can find it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1bOIcnVI3g&feature=youtu.be

Joe Nathan, formerly a public school teacher and administrator, directs the Center for School Change.  Reactions are welcome, and he can be reached at joe@centerforschoolchange.org.

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St. Mary’s University of Minnesota is giving teachers interested in battling the state’s ethnic and racial achievement gaps a set of tools with which to do it, Minnesota Public Radio reports. The program offered by St. Mary’s teaches educators how to be more “culturally responsive” in an effort to teach in a way that is more culturally relevant to all their students.

Teachers who come to the Twin Cities program are not culture warriors. They are simply instructors who see the problem of the achievement gap – which is one of the widest in the nation – play out in their own classroom. A 5th grade teacher interviewed realized one day that the gap was not an abstraction but a reality that was taking place right in front of her among her students — half of whom were minorities and struggling academically.

St. Mary’s instructor Marceline DuBose encourages her students to shake up their traditional teaching styles. She said music and movement can help capture students who learn differently.

The education system is already working best for white, middle-class kids, particularly female students, so it’s no surprise that many teachers share those traits, DuBose said. The state Department of Education estimates that less than 4 percent of Minnesota teachers are people of color. Yet more than a quarter of Minnesota’s students are nonwhite.

She said that she noticed her fellow teachers expressing sentiments that left her uncomfortable. In her words, they were bemoaning the way things used to be, when they believed the academic standards had been higher as was the level of preparedness among the students. She felt that attitude was what was causing them to give up on students who were poor and non-white.

According to Luz Maria Frias, these kinds of lowered expectations sometimes don’t have anything to do with academic reality. Teachers express bias even when students are performing well.

Frias, who is an attorney along with her husband said she had to confront her daughter’s teacher when he declined to transfer the girl to a gifted program. Although her academic records and standardized test scores made her more than qualified, her white male teacher claimed that he had forgotten to recommend her for the program.

Frias then asked him how many kids in the gifted program were girls or kids of color. The teacher acknowledged that there were none.

“It was a tough conversation,” Frias said. “His first reaction was, ‘Are you calling me a sexist?’ And I said to him, ‘You’d be really lucky if I stopped there.’” Frias, now a vice president with the Minneapolis Foundation, was able to persuade the teacher to include her daughter in the program.

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How effective of an assessment tool is a test that will result in failures for up to a third of the people who take it? That’s the question now facing educators in Minnesota after experts voiced early predictions that up to 30% of high school students are at risk of failing the new high-stakes exit exam in mathematics.

At the moment, passing the new GRAD exam in reading and mathematics is required for high school graduation in Minnesota. Yet, in the case of the math portion of the exam, students who fail it three times can earn the right to graduate by meeting some additional requirements. This loophole is set to close in 2015, and many are wondering if high school graduation rates in Minnesota will tumble as a result.

This seems to be the conclusion of a panel of educators convened to discuss the looming problem. They are expected to recommend changes to the testing regime, although the final decision will rest with the Legislature.

Separate analysis of test results by both Bloomington and Minneapolis school districts concludes that substantial numbers of students would not be allowed to graduate. The Minneapolis analysis projects that 31 percent of students across the state, 19,000 total, are likely to fail the math GRAD test even after repeated retests. In Bloomington, about 31 percent of high school seniors haven’t passed the math GRAD, but about one-fourth of that number is expected to pass during retesting.

Although Minnesota has been administering exit exams to high schoolers since 1997, the tests – including a basic skills test that was the first to be administered – didn’t produce an accurate picture of graduates’ knowledge. According to a 2011 study, nearly 40% of Minnesota high schoolers who enrolled in college after graduation required some form of remediation prior to taking up more advanced academic work — the problem that the new GRAD exams were supposed to solve.

But according to some experts, the GRAD exam solves this problem a little too well. Bloomington’s research director David Heistad says that as designed, GRAD sets a higher standard than the ACT exam used by many universities to determine if students are qualified to enroll. Once the three-time-failure loophole is closed, it’s conceivable that students who are college-ready according to the requirements set out by the colleges themselves will still not be able to actually graduate from high school.

In Minneapolis, administrators are urging the school board to go on record opposing the GRAD portion of state testing in favor of vocational and academic assessments leading to the ACT that tell students whether they’re on track for their college or work goals. Heistad said he’s been asked to present his findings to a group of metro-area principals.

“We should alert everybody that this has big implications,” he said.

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It has been less than three months into the new school year, yet those in charge at the Cathedral High School in St. Cloud, Minnesota are ready to announce the experiment of their one laptop per student program as a success. Teachers are already reporting that equipping the students with the digital devices have increased their engagement, streamlined communication, and allowed students to clear out some space in both their backpacks and their lockers by getting rid of cumbersome traditional textbooks in favor of electronic academic materials.

This year represents the first of a three-year plan that will have every student at Cathedral receiving a device of their own. This fall, 235 very portable MacBook Air laptops were handed out to 7th and 8th-graders. Michael Mullin, the school president, said the results so far are quite encouraging. Even though administrators and faculty are aware that this is only a pilot year of the program and the purpose is to observe and draw conclusions aimed at making the next two years of the program a success, keeping the excitement to a minimum is a challenge.

Cathedral is leasing 270 computers on three-year leases from Apple. Each machine costs the school district about $1,000, and the money came from the school’s general fund. Planning for the program began last year and centered on who would use them, not just on the tools. The remaining 35 machines were given to teachers who would decide the best way to use them.

Mullin said that the key to making the program a success – both during the planning and the implementation stage – was to keep the faculty intimately involved in it. He explained that equipping the students came second to equipping the teachers and making sure that they had the tools to make successful use out of the new technology. Prior to handing out the laptops to students, it was important that the teachers had a certain level of comfort with them.

Getting kids comfortable with the tech proved to be much less of a challenge. If the experience of 12-year-old Sophia O’Neal is anything to go by, having constant access to a keyboard and a computer screen in class was just a continuation of the environment they live in when not in school.

Still, some facets of using computers for learning are new even to digitally savvy kids. O’Neal said that using a digital textbook was quite different than using a traditional book — but that didn’t mean that it suffered in comparison.

“I like the laptops for the books,” O’Neal said. “When we have our textbooks online, we don’t have to bring our books to class or home for homework.”

As for the teachers, what they appreciate most is that the laptops made keeping in touch with their students much easier. Tina Scheierl, who teaches world geography, explained that each one of her classes has their own course webpage which lists assignments, notes and any helpful hints. They also encourage two-way communication via forums and email.

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Common sense made a much-needed appearance in Minnesota as the state’s Office of Higher Education announced that it did not, in fact, plan to prevent one of the largest providers of free online courses – Coursera – from offering its free services to the state’s residents.

Last week the Office of Higher Education informed the company that it could no longer service students in Minnesota because its failure to register with the state’s education authorities put it in violation of a decades-old law that aimed to protect Minnesotans from paying for fraudulent degrees. The fact that Coursera neither offered degree programs nor charged for any of its courses seemed to have been lost on whomever made the decision to ban the company. This warning led Coursera to alter its terms of service to prevent Minnesota residents or students who planned to spend substantial time in the state from enrolling in any massive online open courses offered by the company.

The change was first reported in Chronicle of Higher Education and then picked up by various news outlets around the country, who pressured Minnesota officials to explain their reasoning. It didn’t take long before the state was rolling back its decision.

Earlier this week the office issues a clarification via email distributed to several news organizations, including The Washington Post:

“Obviously, our office encourages lifelong learning and wants Minnesotans to take advantage of educational materials available on the Internet, particularly if they’re free,” said Larry Pogemiller, director of the office. “No Minnesotan should hesitate to take advantage of free, online offerings from Coursera.”

Pogemiller, according to the e-mail, said a 20-year-old statute requiring institutional registration clearly did not envision free online, not-for-credit offerings.

Pogemiller further explained that the office would seek legal redress during the next Legislative session scheduled to start next January. He said that he will work with both lawmakers and the governor to rewrite the law to better square with the needs and circumstances of the modern-day academic and online education environment.

Will Oremus of Slate.com’s Future Tense blog, who said that Minnesota’s original decision deserved a grand prize in for the “most creative use of government to stifle innovation,” praised both the quick turnaround and the government’s general responsiveness to the backlash generated by its original stance on the issue. He said that Pogemiller’s willingness to confront the issue head-on and to seek a solution that would recognize the higher education landscape has been irrevocably changed by the online revolution was an admirable and forward-thinking move.

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The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that Minnesota is the home to some of the most indebted college graduates in the country, according to a document released earlier this week. California-based Institute for College Access and Success has published a paper that ranks Minnesota third in the country for the amount of debt carried by its students, writing that an average student from a MN four-year college carries nearly $30,000 in education loans upon graduation.

Minnesota’s students just might appreciate free, high-quality education — but the state won’t allow it.

A survey of 2011 graduates shows that they are leaving school carrying $26,600 debt load, on average, which is an uptick of 5% from the year before. And many believe that the true picture is even more dire, since the report includes only the balances carried by graduates from non-profit schools.

The state also clocks in near the top for the percentage of students taking out student loans, with 71% resorting to loans to finance their education. It is also a home to two of the schools that made the institute’s “high-debt colleges” list. A typical student graduating from Minneapolis College of Art and Design has a loan balance of $43,035, and those getting their education from College of St. Scholastica in Duluth leave with debt totaling, on average, $41,282.

Thursday’s report is the latest to document the steady swelling of student loan debt that has provoked protests from parents and policymakers

At the same time as the institute’s debt report was making headlines, those in Minnesota who are experimenting with different approaches to bringing down the price of college education were dealt an unexpected setback when the state’s Office of Higher Education sent out a notice to Coursera, a pioneering online education provider, that it must stop offering its services to students in Minnesota.

The reason behind the move? A decades-old law that says that colleges and universities must have permission from the state to offer classes within its borders.

The move led Coursera to clarify its terms of service to exclude those who wish to avail themselves to the hosted content but reside in Minnesota. The new terms ask students to agree that they will not take any Coursera massive online open courses if they either live in the state or spend a substantial amount of time there.

George Roedler, manager of institutional registration and licensing at the Minnesota Office of Higher education, clarifies that his office’s issue isn’t with Coursera per se, but with the universities that offer classes through its website. State law prohibits degree-granting institutions from offering instruction in Minnesota without obtaining permission from the office and paying a registration fee. (The fee can range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand, plus a $1,200 annual renewal.) That means that it’s Stanford, Columbia, Michigan, the University of Melbourne, et al. that are violating Minnesota law by partnering with Coursera to offer courses that Minnesota residents can take for free.

Roedler goes on to explain that the law is in place to prevent students from wasting money on a degree from a non-accredited institution. He remained unpersuaded by the argument that this can hardly occur in Coursera’s case as all the content through their website is free and it is not a degree-granting institution.

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