Minnesota Test Scores Remain Low Despite Walz Spending Billions

The Democratic Party’s vice presidential nominee, Governor Tim Walz (D-Minn.), has failed to improve average test scores in his state of Minnesota despite spending billions of dollars to try to improve the state’s education system.

As the Daily Caller reports, Walz previously signed a bill in 2023 that aimed to spend $2.3 billion on improving the academic performance of students in the state. Although it marked the single largest investment in education in Minnesota’s history, the latest data shows that test scores have not improved after the bill’s implementation.

In the report from the Minnesota Reformer, test scores in 2019, when Walz first took office, showed that about 60% of Minnesota students were proficient in reading while 55% were proficient in math. In 2024, those rates have declined further, to only about half of students being proficient readers and just 45% being proficient in math.

Although the Chinese Coronavirus pandemic played a major role in the sharp decline, Minnesota saw a steeper drop in test scores compared to most states. Moreover, scores have not improved even two years after all lockdown measures were lifted. By contrast, in 2015 and 2017, the average math scores of Minnesota’s fourth grade students were about 10 points higher than the national average. In 2022, that rate dropped to just 4 points above the national average.

In a press release at the end of August, the Minnesota Department of Education made multiple excuses for the $2.3 billion bill’s failure to improve education standards.

“Long-term key investments from the 2023 legislative session are currently being implemented, including the largest funding increase for K-12 education in state history,” the statement read. “Once fully implemented, these investments will positively impact students for many years to come.”

Marketed by Walz as the “Minnesota Miracle 2.0,” much of the funds were given directly to the school districts themselves. Despite this, many districts continued to find themselves in debt, with the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) district facing a budget deficit of $116 million.

As the party’s nominee for vice president, Walz will face off against the Republican vice presidential nominee, Senator J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), in the first and only scheduled debate between the two on October 1st.