Earlier start does not improve test scores

By Darby Quast, Talon staff writer

Starting school two weeks before Labor Day did not improve test scores in 25 southwestern Minnesota districts but superintendent of the Mountain Lake public schools, Bill Strom, is not worried.

“We are convinced that when you add time ahead of the assessments, you are going to improve the likelihood that student test scores will increase”, Strom told the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

They are experimenting on the districts to see if starting the year earlier will improve students’ performance on standardized tests.  The results from the first of three years showed no change in the test scores of students.