Education Issues

The truth behind TiZA

The controversial charter school was more than just a First Amendment fiasco

TiZA, Islamic-themed charter school, closes for good

TiZA's 500-some students are moving on to other schools.​Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy, the controversial charter school that ran afoul of the Minnesota Education Department and a new state law, is closing its doors permanently.TiZA's board voted Tuesday not to appeal the Education Department's decision ... More >>

Porn, sex toy company Adam & Eve sponsoring chair for University of Minnesota

​Sex toy company Adam & Eve is giving the University of Minnesota an endowed chair. Wait, let's rephrase that. Adam & Eve, a company that specializes in pornographic movies and sexual aids, is helping University of Minnesota administrators with a certain position. Sorry, once more. Adam &a ... More >>

Minnesota study suggests we're doomed to regrettable sex from birth

Abstinence now, insanity later.​Teenagers can be stupid. Which is why, conventional wisdom says, they ought to keep it in their pants until the hormonal seas have ebbed enough for sane and safe sexual decisions to be made. Right? Well, according to a new study, our sexual IQ is probably set l ... More >>

How to score a standardized essay [DOCUMENTS]

This week's cover on the secret life of standardized test scorers.​In this week's cover story, we took you behind the scenes at standardized test scoring facilities across the Twin Cities. As the story mentions, the essay companies use a rubric to judge how many points to give a written essay. Fa ... More >>

Inside the multimillion-dollar essay-scoring business

Behind the scenes of standardized testing

Edina's a better place than the Twin Cities for young people

Photo by Bobak Ha'Eri, Wikipedia.50th and France in Edina.​A new survey from America's Promise Alliance counts five Minnesota cities in its top-100 "Best Communities for Young People" in the country. Unfortunately, Twin Citians, Minneapolis nor St. Paul made the cut. Here's who beat us: Edin ... More >>

Gary Shteyngart

Photo by Bobak Ha'Eri, Wikipedia.50th and France in Edina.​A new survey from America's Promise Alliance counts five Minnesota cities in its top-100 "Best Communities for Young People" in the country. Unfortunately, Twin Citians, Minneapolis nor St. Paul made the cut. Here's who beat us: Edin ... More >>

Tim Pawlenty doubles down on abstinence-only

​Tim Pawlenty has opted to take grant money from a federal law he wants repealed. The money is for programs dismissed by the state as ineffective. And he picked a grant that requires $379,000 in state matching funds, while the state is already drowning in red ink. What's going on here? S ... More >>

Sex with love won't drag down your GPA

Photo: PinkMooseTeen sex among loving partners is no drag on the GPA​Bad news for the morals police: A new study co-authored by University of Minnesota sociobiology professor Eric Grodsky finds that sex with a steady girlfriend or boyfriend isn't likely to drag down a teenage student's grades. ... More >>

Al Franken lets the cowbell rip on video

The Pine City Elementary School Band leader Brad Mariska had a fever on Thursday, and the only prescription was more cowbell. Sen. Al Franken was happy to oblige. Why? Paying homage to an old Saturday Night Live skit. Here's the cowbell clip: Here's a few seconds of Christopher Walken in the cla ... More >>

Police watchdogs oust member for being too political

Plus: More ACORN drama, TiZA charter school

TiZA inquiry ruling nixes race bias

​The Minnesota Education Department's investigation into the test scores and teaching licenses of Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy was not racially motivated, the U.S. Education Department ruled this week.The Inver Groves Heights academy known as TiZA is a charter school whose student body is about 80 perc ... More >>

Dueling headlines: Strib vs. PiPress

Minnesota students improve dramatically in science scores vs. Most Minnesota students are science ignoramuses.

Conservative columnist Katherine Kersten finds unlikely ally in the ACLU

The Strib's Kersten takes issue with church vs. state—but only when it involves Islam

National Public Health Week Film Festival: Sex Ed Night

The Strib's Kersten takes issue with church vs. state—but only when it involves Islam

Teachers at Minnesota charter schools face power struggle

State law quirk requires educators to sit on school board

ACLU suing charter school that caters to Muslims

Top-ranked schools are underperforming ... huh?

State Graduation Rates: Two wildly different takes

Improv-A-Go-Go

Mission: Impossible

A radically retooled Minneapolis School Board tries to stop the bleeding and start over

The Smiling Face of Pain

The "new" Tim Pawlenty looks a lot like the old one

The Chosen One

Michele Bachmann's recipe for success: Christian piety and not-so-Christian opportunism

Reichgott Junge's Republican pals

Michele Bachmann's recipe for success: Christian piety and not-so-Christian opportunism

We're All Bozos on This Board

After watching the last two superintendents it tabbed go up in smoke, what will the Minneapolis School Board do for an encore?

Failing Grade for "No Child"

After watching the last two superintendents it tabbed go up in smoke, what will the Minneapolis School Board do for an encore?

Hindsight is--uh, Legally Blind, Actually

After watching the last two superintendents it tabbed go up in smoke, what will the Minneapolis School Board do for an encore?

8/23: Morning Communique

After watching the last two superintendents it tabbed go up in smoke, what will the Minneapolis School Board do for an encore?

No complaint left behind

After watching the last two superintendents it tabbed go up in smoke, what will the Minneapolis School Board do for an encore?

Food for Thought

After watching the last two superintendents it tabbed go up in smoke, what will the Minneapolis School Board do for an encore?

Jackson Jury Queries

After watching the last two superintendents it tabbed go up in smoke, what will the Minneapolis School Board do for an encore?

Somebody Say Oh Lord!

Michele Bachmann heads an all-star cast of GOP Christian flat-earthers in the Sixth District

Schoolz Suck

New numbers show public education in Minnesota trending down, down, down

Choose and Lose

How I got my kid into a decent public school and learned that "choice" is not all it's made out to be

Superintendents, Inc.

The new Minneapolis public schools super, groomed the corporate way by a conservative foundation

Built to Fail

The federal No Child Left Behind law is threatening to wreck public education in Minnesota and elsewhere. That's what it was designed to do.

Pawlenty's Education Switcheroo

Keep a close eye on my left hand...

The Taskmaster

The education commissioner changes her tune

The White Man

Can David Jennings please inner-city minorities and neo-con legislators?

The Learning Curve

What happens when good schools get a failing grade?

The Gospel According to Carol Johnson

Minneapolis's top teacher keeps the faith in trying times

Quick Fade

A charter school that opened with big promises last fall quietly goes belly-up

License, Please

A tiny St. Paul high school throws off the shackles of state regulation--including those cumbersome rules about teacher certification

Assistance with Education Questions

A tiny St. Paul high school throws off the shackles of state regulation--including those cumbersome rules about teacher certification

Here to Stay, Built to Last

Charter schools, education for the future

Talking Book

Word Up: KTCA's Daniel Bergin documents African American letters in Literature & Life.

Race to Reform

Like Wendell Maddox, African Americans and Latinos increasingly support vouchers as a viable alternative to schools that fail them. Opponents say minorities are being used as pawns in an ideological battle.

Hoops and Ladders

How sports are wrecking schools.