Congratulations to Growth and Justice for the well-received and highly informative "Smart Investments in Minnesota’s Students" Education Summit held at the Minnesota History Center on Monday, November 12, 1007. The event brought together a large and engaged group to learn from economists about where Minnesotan’s might best invest to improve education for all students.

Improve Group staff Leah Goldstein Moses, Rebecca Stewart and Susan Murphy, were excited to have a role in the day’s events by moderating the afternoon’s panels on early education, K-12 and out-of-school time. Each panel included the economists who presented papers on smart investments and State Legislators and Representatives who are involved education for Minnesotans. The discussion in was lively, positive and created clarity on the morning’s presentations.

Although Growth and Justice focused on information sharing (hoping to build consensus over the next several months), there seemed to be consensus around a few key issues:

1. Effectiveness seems to be better defined by volume rather than degree. For example, an increase in the number of students who reach proficiency on a test is more important than an increase in the average score on that test.

2. Making a difference in the number of students who graduate from high school has both economic and ethical value. There are economic benefits to the individual, state and federal systems (see p. 30 and 34 of the summary report), and one of the political presenters made the statement that we should be concerned not just with public education but the education of the public.

3. Even very costly programs can be cost-effective if they make a great change in educational attainment and matriculation.