Zachary Lane Ranks High in State Elementary Schools

Robbinsdale Area Schools' western-most school knows its direction and its place in the state and that is near the top and going forward.

in Plymouth received one of the highest ratings in the state on the recent Multiple Measurement Ratings (MMR), ranking 16th in the state in elementary schools.  Schools earn points in each of four categories:  proficiency on the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment (MCAs), student growth on the MCAs, achievement gap reduction and, in the case of high schools, graduation rates.

Their focus rating (FR) was one of the highest in the state for any school, ranking 17th.  Focus ratings are generated by combining the proficiency and growth of the seven identified subgroups in Minnesota (Black, Hispanic, Asian, American Indian, Free/Reduced Price Lunch, Special Education, and English Learners).  Currently, Zachary Lane’s population includes approximately 29 percent students of color, and 19 percent of the school’s students qualify for free- or reduced-price lunch.

The scores released Tuesday were part of the state waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).  Zachary Lane had an MMR of 94.24 percent and a Focus Rating (FR) of 96.50 percent.

Because Zachary Lane does not receive federal Title I funding, it received no designation of as a Reward School, despite its extremely high rating.  And like all other elementary schools in the district, Zachary Lane experienced double digit growth on the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) in math, increasing the percentage of students making at least average growth by 16 percent in two years, and on the MAP in reading by 11 percent.   So, despite the old data used by the state in the initial MMR, the recent data for Zachary Lane is just as strong.

(Information was provided by a Robbinsdale School District press release.)