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Maple River Education Coalition PAC
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Chaska, MN  55318 
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December 4, 2000

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MN House hears ACHIEVE/CBE Report on Profile of Learning

The Minnesota House Education Committee hearing on the Achieve, Inc./Council on Basic Education audit of the Profile of Learning was held November 30th at the State Office Building in St. Paul. The hearing was well attended by House members, members-elect, education bureaucrats and activists.  All were eager to see if the comments by Achieve/CBE would be as critical as their written report.

Chairman Harry Mares called the meeting to order by making a sweeping statement, "There is no one who does not support standards."  ("Standards," is a term that is widely abused.)  Achieve/CBE started their multimedia presentation in a formal, statistical way moving their audience a step at a time toward acceptance of what would prove to be a report containing an assessment of the Profile that we have been providing for three years.

Reviewed by Achieve, Inc., CBE and 19 "national experts," the Profile was found to be "lacking clarity and specificity," "without progression of rigor," containing "significant gaps in knowledge" and "overemphasized performance, minimizing the content."  "Students are told how to do things without the content to do them."

The report on the policies surrounding the Profile of Learning came in with equally poor remarks.  "Current policies do not assure that all students will be held to high standards...Local performance assessments do not provide equity across districts...There is no high standards test for high school."

Even after almost an hour of disparaging comments on the Profile of Learning and its policies, some legislators who have strongly supported the Profile were in denial.  Rep. Betty Folliard totally missed the point when she commented, "I'm so glad we got to the point where we could take a measurement.  This report takes us past the 'whether' to 'which' standards we will implement."  Her comment was quickly followed by Dr. Robert Rice from CBE who said, "There is not enough evidence to see the Profile of Learning has moved anything ahead." 

The Profile was the hot topic in almost every legislator's election and pressure was felt all over the state during the campaign season to rid Minnesota of it.  Commissioner Jax had successfully stalled the Achieve/CBE report until after the 2000 Legislative Session and although it was in the DCFL's possession prior to the election, it was not released until afterwards.

The report itself shows that Minnesota's "high" standards are so poor that they do not even contain any American History or economics until 9th grade.  When Matthew Gandal, Vice President of Achieve, was asked twice by Rep. Sondra Erickson if the state should "start anew" and "scrap" the Profile, here is his first response:  "As far as the Profile on paper and its measurement system, tinkering around with it won't do it...You should be very concerned about whether or not you've already lost your total support."  Second response: "A few small changes will not solve your problem.  We would caution you in trying to fill in a few missing things."

Achieve/CBE never once suggested that the Profile of Learning, as it stands, could be fixed.  They cautioned against "tinkering" and "small changes."  When asked if it should be scrapped, they did not say no.  Their silence spoke volumes.

The legislature is in a quandary.  To change the Profile of Learning again would require holding another class harmless.  They were forced to allow districts to hold the first two graduating classes harmless under the Profile, 2002/2003, and if changed again, they would have to include the class of 2004 that was just placed under Profile of Learning Experiment number two.  The choice sits at their feet.  Will they eliminate this monolith once and for all or will they proceed to Profile of Learning Experiment number 3?

Perhaps the most revealing comment in the written Achieve/CBE report is the following:

"The recent legislative decision to make the Profile of Learning a local option may have temporarily eased the burden on local districts and schools, but it does not advance the STATE'S (emphasis added) goal of high standards for all students."

This statement clearly indicates that the legislature, the elected representation and voice of the people, interfered with the "state's" goal.  Isn't the "state" supposed to be the people?  Obviously, the "state" is a new entity operating independently in Minnesota with their own agenda.

The Achieve/CBE written report was actually written in conjunction with the oversight of that independent new "state" entity.  The wording was approved by the DCFL before being released.  The answer to Minnesota's woes concerning the Profile of Learning, according to the written report, is to give the "state" more authority.  This would come at the expense of the local district, and, per the report, the "state" would centralize the control of the curriculum, assessment and accountability.  There is no room in this report for citizens or their elected representatives to get in the way of the "state's goal."

The Achieve/CBE told us everything we already knew and have been telling Minnesotans.  The Profile of Learning has been a cash cow radical experiment at the expense of taxpayers and the intellect of our children.  Scrapping it is the only solution, and everyone must support his or her legislators in doing so.

Renee T. Doyle,
President
Maple River Education Coalition

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