Minnesota Learning

Minnesota’s Budget By the Numbers

Posted on February 15, 2011 by Edward

As I mentioned yesterday, I had the chance to go to a townhall meeting and hear some great facts and figures from Rep. Loon, Rep Strenruud and Senator Hann. There were about 30-40 people at the meeting that lasted about 2 hours at the Eden Prairie library on Feb 4th.

According to the Tax Foundation, Minnesota’s taxes are the 7th highest in the nation. The tax burden for an individual is $4,688 or $18,752 per family. Although 1/3 of Minnesotans do not pay taxes and the top 10% pay 40% of the taxes.

How do we look compared to other states:

43rd out of 50 states for Business tax climate, that means 42 other states are more business friendly.

Sales Tax Index: 40th

Unemployment Insurance sales tax index: 38th

When it comes to where our money comes from the fund the government, half comes from individual income tax. So when fewer of us are working, it really impacts the state funds. 28% comes from sales tax and 5% from corporate taxes and property taxes. The rest are made up of various fees and lesser used taxes. In an average year, MN will see 1% or less population grow, and we do have an aging population. This is important as we look at where our money goes.

The money we pay in taxes at the state level go into the general funds, which is 50% of where the state gets funding. 31% is from the federal government, but for the next budget period starting next year, 60% of the budget will come from the general funds and the federal government portion will shrink to 25%. During the current budget period, the increase in federal spending came from stimulus spending.

So where does all that money go? Looking at the proposed 2012-13 cycle, here is the breakdown:

Health and Human Services: 41.4% (MN spends 12 billion and the federal government spends another 12 billion)

Education of K-12: 27.1% (does not include your local property taxes)

Transportation: 8.9%

Tax Aids and Credits: 5.4%

Higher Education: 4.6%

Job and Economic Growth: 1.8%

The rest is made up of natural resources protection, agriculture programs, vet programs, debt services and “others.”

As you can see, we spend a large amount of health and human services which is a really social services programs. K-12 also takes up a large portion of our money while job and economic growth gets almost nothing.

In a nutshell, that’s your budget situation in Minnesota, next time I will go over some of the topics we discussed at the townhall.

Posted in Budget, college, Education, Minnesota, MN | Tagged 2012, Budget, townhall | Leave a comment

Fun Facts You Learn at Townhall Meetings

Posted on February 14, 2011 by Edward

I recently attended the MN district 42 townhall meeting held at the Eden Prairie library. It was a very informative session and I will be posting more of that throughout the week. Although education was not the main topic, it was a topic that came up often, especially in terms of the money we spend.

In MN, the current budget period, the amount we spend from our general funds on k-12 education is over 40% of the budget, that doesn’t include the property taxes you pay on the local level. We also learned about how the federal government creates programs and mandates and holds the state of MN to them yet doesn’t fund their own part. For example, special education; the fed said it would pay 40% of special education costs. The most it has ever paid is 18% of those costs.

So stay tuned this week as I post more on what I learned at our local townhall.

Edward

Posted in Budget, Eden Prairie, Education, Minnesota, MN, schools | Leave a comment

Study Finds College Students Experiencing More Stress

Posted on January 28, 2011 by Edward

A recent study published by the UCLA found that college students are experiencing more stress than in the past. The higher levels of stress are associated with the need to find a job that pays well after school. This impacts students at all levels even freshmen who are pressured by family to choose majors that will help them land good paying jobs after college.

The study also calls into question the high cost of college and if it is worth the cost for many students. This study is added to the debate over the value of college in today’s economy. Many colleges will have to adapt and change their model, but what will that look like is what is being debated right now in many universities.

Posted in college, Education, high school, MN, SAT, schools | Tagged college, costs, expenses, stress, UCLA | Leave a comment

National School Choice Week

Posted on January 27, 2011 by Whizard

If you haven’t heard, this week is national school choice week. It is a week where parents from around the nation, focus on the issues of school choice. For many parents in Eden Prairie, the boundaries issue may have taken them to take this year’s school choice week, more serious than in the past.

Posted in Eden Prairie, Education, high school, Learning, Minnesota, Minnetonka, MN, schools | Tagged choice, Eden Prairie, Education, learning, National, school choice | Leave a comment

Choosing a College

Posted on January 24, 2011 by Edward

Lately, the media has been buzzing with stories about a recent report saying kids do not learn in college. This happens to come out at the very same time that many students are getting their college acceptance papers in. Many parents want to ensure that their students get the best education and the latest study doesn’t help them with their fears. School costs are going up faster than inflation and with student loans harder to get, making sure college pays is important!

As someone who worked in college administration for a while, I know some of the ins and outs. Beyond the cost is the simple fact of fit. You want to ensure your child will go to a school that fits their personality. By this I mean the teaching style needs to match the learning style. This means the type of teaching style and workload is what your child will feel motivated with. If the workload is not strong enough, they will just party or play video games, a waste of time for you and them.

Also, as a paying customers, don’t be afraid to challenge schools to challenge students more. Remember, you are paying for a service, they need to deliver and if they don’t, demand they make things better. Be it a state school or a private school, customer satisfaction should be top of mind for them. If it is not, that is a red flag that the school is probably not interested in your needs but more for their own needs.

It helps to be bold when looking for the right school for your child. Often parents leave it to the child, but it helps to play an active role in helping your child to explore what their options are and to ensure those options are in their best interest for the long term. That will help ensure their college experience is one that helps the learn and adds value.

Posted in Budget, college, Education | Tagged college, Grades, learning, University | Leave a comment

Minnesota Report Card: C

Posted on January 21, 2011 by Claude

Minnesota received a C on its report card. When I went to school that was not considered a very good grade. However we keep hearing how the education provided by our Minnesota schools is so good. Our politicians are always pointing to our education system as one of the key factors in our good quality of life. So then why is Minnesota only ranked 36^th of all the states and the District of Columbia? This is the staggering result reported in the Editorial Projects in Education (EPE) 15^th annual survey for 2010.

We spend $10,048 per student which is 2.4% below the national average. So inadequate funding can’t be the primary reason for our disappointing performance. Maybe the allocation of the funds could be more effective. We also have a strong foundation for success including parents with high income levels (9^th in the nation) and a high percentage of postsecondary education (56.6% good for 4^th on the nation). So where are we going wrong?

Let’s look at our teachers and academic standards. Our teachers received a D+. They ranked 39^th! To be fair this particular category also takes into account policy decisions made by school administrators. Minnesota for example does not incentivize teachers or principals to work in targeted schools with underachieving students. With the 40% achievement gap between minorities and Caucasians it would behoove us to improve the learning experience of the increasing number of minorities in our state.

Even though Minnesota has made great strides in updating its academic standards it still only ranks 47^th. There is no transparency beyond AYP results in determining how well schools are doing in comparison to other schools. Minnesota needs to come up with a school rating system so parents are better informed about the type of education their students are receiving. We have all heard how teachers don’t like to be rated. Imagine the outcry if schools were rated!

We live in difficult times. Our economy is stagnant, our expenditures are still on the rise while revenue is declining. All the same we still have to find effective ways to educate our students so they can be productive members of society. We need to appreciate the value of education more. Immigrants seem to understand this better than anyone. We have always been a nation of immigrants. Let’s remember our roots and instill strong educational values in our children.

Posted in college, Education, Learning, Minnesota, MN, schools, standardized testing | Tagged economy, Education, MN, standards, testing | Leave a comment

Is our education system a threat to national security?

Posted on December 28, 2010 by Claude

A couple of recent Associated Press articles have raised concerns about the quality of our education system regarding the basic math, science and reading skills of our high school graduates. A report from the Education Trust found that 23% of recent high school graduates fail to get the minimum score on the enlistment test for any of our military branches. The test in question is called the ASVAB-Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery.

Recruits are required to score 31 out of 99 on a three hour test to get into the Army. The questions are very basic yet so many high school graduates fail. When you take into consideration those who cannot qualify physically, or have a criminal record or did not graduate from high school 75% of our youngsters aren’t even eligible to take the test.

Once the economy recovers less people will look at the military as an employment option. Then we will most likely be unable to fill the recruitment needs of the military. In the meantime we need to focus on why our high school graduates are not able to pass a basic test enabling them to serve our country. Are we going to ask Chinese high school graduates to fill in the gaps? It is time to really get serious about what is going on in our schools if we want to remain a vibrant and independent nation.

At WHIZard Academy we can help military recruits to prepare for the ASVAB. We will customize a program to meet the needs of any potential recruit.

Posted in ACT, Budget, college, Eden Prairie, Education, English, high school, Learning, math, MN, SAT, schools, standardized testing, tutor, tutoring | Leave a comment

China’s Standardized Test Results

Posted on December 7, 2010 by Edward

A lot of talk has been going on lately about the test results out of China, showing them out performing many other strong countries. On the surface, if you look at articles like in the New York Times, it looks quite impressive. But we haven’t seen the details, who were the students and do they truly represent a cross section of China. As always a post analysis is needed to verify data accuracy, so I would hold off on any judgment.

What we can look at, are past performers like Singapore and South Korea, tutoring is very popular. In fact in those systems, the schools are not the only source of education. Parents get very much involved and after school tutoring programs are used. What you will find are a system of learning that is only partly done by the school. Different methods in different programs are used. So kids are not limited to just one place and one way of learning.

What we can see is that, these countries spend far less on education by the government than the US does, but spend more on outside of the classroom education than the US does. If we are going to learn any lessons, that would be one. The US is #1 on the amount of money spent on education and yet only came in 26th place globally. Those are poor results, it’s time to change the education model.

Posted in ACT, Budget, Chanhassen, Chaska, college, Eden Prairie, Edina, Education, English, high school, Learning, math, Minnetonka, MN, SAT, schools, science, standardized testing, tutor, tutoring | Tagged China, PISA, Singapore, South Korea | Leave a comment

Making Math Fun For the Holidays

Posted on November 30, 2010 by Whizard

The holidays are a great time of year to help kids see that math can be fun. With all the baking, wrapping of presents and building of snowmen, there are lots of ways to incorporate math into fun activities.

This time of year, there are so many ways that kids and learn about how math is used in everyday life. Starting with simple things like baking and cooking. Kids can easily learn about the importance of measuring correctly. We all know what happens to some cakes when they are not measured properly, you can show kids what happens to two cakes, one measure correctly and one not. Or even just having them do the measuring to see learn the various measurements.

Wrapping presents is also another area to help kids learn about math, measuring the proper length of paper or ribbons is a simple way to help kids learn about math and the importance of measuring as well.

Or about building the right snowman and the importance of structure. If you want to get really creative, go beyond a snowman and build a snow structure where load baring forces are taken into account and the need to build solid structures comes into play, a little bit of architectural math can be applied.

Posted in ACT, Bloomington, Budget, Chanhassen, Chaska, college, Eden Prairie, Edina, Education, English, high school, Jefferson, Learning, math, Minnetonka, MN, SAT, schools, science, standardized testing, tutor | Tagged fun, Holidays, math | Leave a comment

25 Hours Just Got Better!

Posted on October 26, 2010 by Whizard

Whizard Academy is here to help you with a great new deal for your students. Sign up and prepay for a 25 hour program and get a $150 off. Print out the coupon and bring it in for your discount. Math, English, Sciences and college entrance.