The Test Tank

Mariani-Rosa thinks Pawlenty is right to call for a radical redesign of Minnesota high schools. He likes the governor's willingness to put $75 million on the table for high schools that agree in the next two years to develop courses with more academic rigor, workplace relevance or both. He'll also be the chief House sponsor of a bill that would reward low-income high school students who successfully complete college-prep classes with scholarships, to be redeemed at any Minnesota college or university, public or private. That's the Minnesota Private College Council's variation on a Pawlenty proposal to reward with scholarships the high school students who take college-level classes.

“The tragedy of this session is that the good, innovative stuff won't get the level of vetting it should, because we have such anxiety about base funding," said Mariani-Rosa. "It's hard to focus on exciting new possibilities when we're still not adequately funding special ed," the exciting new idea of the 1957 session. It doesn't have to be that way. Mariani-Rosa says he'll be one member of the new House majority who will insist that Minnesota can have it all -- enough teachers and guidance counselors, faculty salary increases, new high school curricula and new scholarships for low-income kids. "This state has the resources to develop a world-class education system," he said. "All we lack is the political will."