See how Minnesota Ranks according to various sources
with various priorities:

June 23, 2010 - Dane Smith: Why Oklahoma ain’t OK as a model for Minnesota - A 20 percent budget cut would put Minnesota at 42nd, or just ahead of 43rd-ranked Oklahoma—in the amount we put to common use. As we move forward to balance budgets and weigh how to get prosperity expanding again in Minnesota, we need to stop looking south and start looking toward restoring the integrity of our own brand, St. Paul Legal Ledger Capitol Report.

January 28, 2010 - On Our Way to Average: Ranking Minnesota's Economic Performance - On all three education indicators-pupil-teacher ratio, students at or above "basic" level in math and reading, and per capita state and local spending on education-Minnesota's performance declined relative to other states. The following graph shows Minnesota's ranking on each performance indicator in 2002 and the most recent year data were available. A ranking of "1" denotes the best performance among the 50 states, Minnesota 2020.

 

January 2010 - Quality Counts 2010 - Minnesota earns a C (75.4); Ranked 29th in the Nation, below the national average, Education Week (Press Release; Grading Summary).

December 9, 2009 - America's Best High Schools 2010 - Minnesota Ranked 31st out of 47 States, U.S. News & World Report.

November 2009 - Leaders and Laggards - A State-By-State Report Card of Educational Innovation.  Minnesota earns a D for School Management: Minnesota does a poor job managing its schools in a way that encourages thoughtful innovation. While the state has enacted an excellent charter school law, 94% of teachers report that routine duties and paperwork interfere with their teaching (Minnesota State Report), Center for American Progress.

October 14, 2009 - 2009 NAEP Results - Minnesota Eighth-grade Students Ranked Second in National Math Assessment; Fourth-graders Rank Third, Minnesota Department of Education.

Minnesota Scores Compared to 2007

• Minnesota (249) has one of the highest scale scores for fourth grade math
  behind Massachusetts (252) and New Hampshire (251). No other state had a significantly higher score than Minnesota: Four states had similar scores (Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and New Jersey) and the rest were significantly lower than Minnesota.
• Minnesota fourth-grade students improved math scores by two points (from 247 to 249) exceeding the national average by ten points (249 compare to 239).
• In eighth-grade, Minnesota (294) was second in the nation exceeded only by Massachusetts (299). Vermont, North Dakota and New Jersey and New Hampshire scored similar to Minnesota (293), and all other states scoring significantly lower.
• Eighth-grade students improved in math (from 292 to 294), mirroring the
  national average increase (from 280 to 282). Minnesota remains 12 points
  above the national average and only Massachusetts posted results
  statistically higher than Minnesota.

African-American and Hispanic fourth grade improvement from 2007

• Minnesota’s African-American students improved from 222 to 227 in fourth grade mathematics and exceeded the nation’s scale score (222). Minnesota remains five points above the nation (222).
• Minnesota Hispanic students improved from 229 to 232 in fourth-grade
  mathematics and exceeded the nation’s scale score by five points (227).
• Minnesota’s African-American students made improvements from 260 to 264 in eighth-grade mathematics and exceeded the nation’s scale score (260). Minnesota remains four points above the national average (260).
• Minnesota Hispanic students remained at 269 in eighth-grade mathematics
  with Hispanic students scoring four points above the national average 266.

August 19, 2009 - Minnesota Students Widen State's Lead on ACT Scores - Minnesota's 2009 high school graduates increased the state's average ACT score from 22.6 to 22.7 on a 0 to 36 scale, pushing Minnesota further ahead of other states where the majority of students take the ACT college entrance exam. Minnesota has led the nation in average ACT scores for five consecutive years and the average score has increased each of the last three years. The average ACT score for 2009 high school graduates nationally was 21.1, Minnesota Office of Higher Education.

July 2009 - Public Education Finances 2007 - Minnesota ranked 37th on total school revenue (all sources) and 42nd on total school spending as a percent of personal income for the 2006-07 school year, US Census Bureau (Excel file; see table 12).  Detailed rankings:

Revenues by source
10th, on revenue from state sources
37th, on total school revenue, all sources
45th, on revenue from local sources
46th, on revenue from federal sources

Spending categories
19th, on spending for general administration
27th, on spending for instructional salaries
30th, on total spending for instruction
34th, on spending for instructional benefits
42nd, on total school spending
50th, on spending for school administration

April 2009 - Education Watch State Report - Minnesota has one of the largest Achievement Gaps in the nation, Education Trust.

2007 NAEP Minnesota Rankings:
(Average Scale Score)

Grade 4 Reading

35th on the achievement of African-American students (well below the US average)

37th on the achievement of Latino students (again well below the US average)

31st on the achievement of low income students (slightly above the US average)

17th on the achievement of high income students (slightly above the US average)

Grade 8 Mathematics

17th on the achievement of African-American students (slightly above the US average)

14th on the achievement of Latino students (above the US average)

9th on the achievement of low income students (above the US average)

3rd on the achievement of high income students (well above the US average)

Minnesota ranks:

3rd in the nation for access to qualified teachers (2003-04)

21st in the nation on total federal, state and local K-12 funding per pupil (2005-06)

32nd in the nation on state college affordability supplemented by 8th in the nation on need-based state aid for tuition (2006)

March 2009 -  Technology Counts 2009 - E-education expands opportunities for raising achievement, Education Week.

Minnesota ranked:
21st on technology use, with a grade of B-
40th on technology capacity, with a grade of D