Academics

•  Minnesota is ranked No. 2 in the nation for academic achievement, according to the 2006 Report Card on Education from the American Legislative Exchange Council.

•  Only two states outperformed Minnesota on Education Week's 2007 "Quality Counts" report. Education Week's new "Chance for Success Index" ranked Minnesota third on a variety of indicators, including family income, parent education, high school graduation and adult educational attainment.

•  Minnesota is ranked the sixth “smartest state” based on 21 factors from “ Education State Rankings 2005-2006,” an annual reference book that compares the 50 states in hundreds of elementary and secondary education categories published by Morgan Quitno Press . The previous year, Minnesota ranked seventh.

•  The number of public high schools offering Advance Placement classes, which can lead to college credit, continues to grow. According to the College Board , the proportion of Minnesota public high schools offering AP courses has increased by 25 percent since 1997.

Safety

•  Minnesota schools are safe. None is identified as “persistently dangerous” under the No Child Left Behind act according to Education Week's “Quality Counts” report .

Funding/finances 

•  Spending per pupil increased 82.24 percent from 1983-84 to 2004-05, ranking Minnesota 23rd in the nation. The national average increase was 77.31 percent, according to the American Legislative Exchange Council.

•  Minnesota ranks 16th in the nation in average teacher salary. The state's average teacher salary of $46,906 is more than $900 below the national average. In starting salary, Minnesota ranks 30th, with an average salary nearly $1,000 below the national average, according to the National Education Association .

•  The average public school teacher salary increased 0.6 percent in constant dollars from 1994-95 to 2004-05, ranking Minnesota 23rd and slightly above the national average increase of .2 percent, according to the National Education Association .

•  Minnesota overall ranked ninth in the nation in per capita personal income in 2003 and fifth for the percentage change in per capita personal income from 1993 to 2003, when it increased 58.2 percent, according to the National Education Association .

Staffing 

•  Minnesota had approximately one licensed instructor per 16 students enrolled in public K-12 schools in 2005, the 15th highest ratio, and above the national average of one per 15.8 students, according to the National Education Association . ("Licensed instructor" includes all licensed personnel within a site, not just classroom teachers.)

•  Minnesota has the second worst student-to-counselor ratio among the 50 states, at 792 students per counselor, according to 2005 data from the National Center for Education Statistics. The American School Counselor Association recommends a 250-1 ratio; the current U.S. average is 488-to-1. Breaking out the data by grade (prekindergarten-eighth, ninth-12th), Minnesota is dead last for elementary schools at 4,512 students per counselor and 12th worst among secondary schools at 297-to-1.

Technology

•  Minnesota is in the bottom 10 states when it comes to access to technology. According to Education Week , in 2004 Minnesota had on average 10.1 students per instructional classroom computer, and 10.1 students per Internet-connected classroom computer.