Secretary's Column
By Dr. Rick Melmer
Department of Education

Measured progress

If there is anything that has been consistent over the past few years, it has been the desire for accountability in education. All of our customers – parents, business leaders, legislators, education advocates and community members – want to know the same thing: “How do we know that the students of our community are getting a good education?”

Educators have embraced the need for accountability and have responded with a variety of indicators that illustrate academic success or failure. A term that has become more common among educational organizations is metrics.

Metrics are a way for organizations to measure their progress. Metrics are specific, measurable devices that give observers an opportunity to note progress in identified goal areas. Districts around the country are beginning to adopt metrics to communicate academic progress to their stakeholders.

The Department of Education is beginning to review the concept of metrics to measure our mission, which is Learning, Leadership and Service. We are working through specific metrics that will help us measure our progress in the three areas identified in our mission.

School districts also could identify specific metrics that would measure areas of importance. Some examples are listed below.

• Reading proficiency  – “The Anytown School District will have 85 percent of its tested students proficient or advanced on the Dakota Step reading exam.”

• Math proficiency – “The Anytown School District will have 77 percent of its tested students proficient or advanced on the Dakota Step math exam.”

• ACT – “The Anytown School District will test 80 percent of its students on the ACT exam, and the total composite will be an average of 21.8.”

• Attendance rate – “The Anytown School District will establish an attendance rate of 97 percent for students in grades K–8.”

• Graduation rate – “The Anytown School District will graduate 95 percent of its students over a four-year period.”

I am excited about our department’s efforts in the area of metrics development. I think it will help us remain focused on the importance of our work. I wish you the best as you do the same in your districts and educational agencies.

From the staff of the Department of Education, we wish you a safe and happy 2007!