Some local educators are a little frustrated and confused by report cards released by the Minnesota Department of Education this week which rate schools with stars, and compile already existing statistical data.

The reports leaves educators to deal with the new data and try and make sense of the report, as they prepare for the upcoming school year.

Much of the data only applies to the 2001-2002 year and some fields of data, like academic opportunity, are empty. In fact, the only stars available this year are determined Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment scores and only for elementary schools. Most schools in the state were given three out of five stars. Of schools in Freeborn County, only Alden-Conger elementary, and

Glenville Elementary got above three stars, both with 4 stars in math and 5 in reading. Stars for others levels and categories will be available in upcoming years.

The report cards also included data on teachers, revenue and property taxes. Information already available but calculated to fit into the new format.

The release of the data caused such a rush to the MDE Web site that it was off-line for some of the Friday,

and crawling slow on Thursday, the day the information was released, forcing educators and parents to wait for the information. Some local school officials say they need time to interpret the data and raised questions about the report cards, and their usefulness. Some educators said that the statistics lack context, and have concerns that parents won’t look beyond the star system.

Alden-Conger Superintendent Joe Guanella laughed with puzzled bemusement at some the details in the reports. For example, adding the percentage of students that tested above and below their grade levels, it left only six percent who tested at their grade level. &uot;Does that sound logical to you?&uot; He said maybe there are good explanations, but at this point he doesn’t know what to make of the figure.

It also has a category about teachers leaving a school, but in a district like Alden Conger, if one teacher retires it shows a 9 percent of teachers left the school.

Another figure he pointed out showed his district having higher than average property taxes, but he noted that it doesn’t mention a new school was built.

With regard to the stars, Alden Conger received 4 and 5 stars, but the report card doesn’t explain specifically how Alden Conger received that many stars, it just lays out multiple possibilities.

He also pointed to the fine print on some charts which are difficult to read, a complaint echoed by other educators.

&uot;It’s still a little hard to know what this means,&uot; Lakeview principal Jean Jordan said.

She thought stars are too vague to sum up a schools performance. She said a better basis for parents to judge is their experience with teachers, the schools, their children’s experience, and by questioning school officials.

She said she thought the motive behind the cards was a political one. &uot;It’s become popular to disapprove of public schools,&uot; she said. She agreed that schools should be held accountable, and that all schools need improvement, but thought there could be more constructive way of helping schools who are already dealing with funding cuts, declining enrollments, and adjusting to an increase of non-English speaking students.

Judy Knudtson, director of curriculum for Albert Lea Area Schools pointed to the fact that some of the figures for the Albert Lea schools are the exact same for all schools, but didn’t know if it was an average of the district’s schools or a mistake. The report card for Lakeview shows that it doesn’t have a principal, when it does, a detail that was in forms sent to the MDE.

It also has a figure showing .35 percent of teachers in the Albert Lea district having less than a bachelors degree. A figure she said could be correct, but isn’t sure how it was calculated.

She said she thought the reports cards will be useful once more data is filled in as years go by, and as educators begin to understand the cards better. She encouraged parents to call the district office with questions.

Education Commissioner Cheri Pierson Yecke explained that the legislature required a rating system with five designations, and that the star system was chosen with sensitivity, over system of letter grades which would include Cs Ds and Fs. She said that schools were informed of what the cards would entail, and that any mistakes on the cards are the fault of the districts.

She said the main objective of the report cards was to consolidate existing information on schools into an easily digested format.

&uot;It’s putting information into the hands of the public, and we have to give them accurate information in a way that they don’t have to be detectives to find,&uot; Yecke said &uot;we want to build bridges of trust with the public, we never want to withhold data.&uot;

(Contact Tim Sturrock at tim.sturrock@albertleatribune.com or 379-3438.)