Test scores

What is MCA?

Minnesota public-school students take the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment (MCA) each spring in Reading and Math (grades 3-8 + grade 10) and Science (grades 5, 8, and high school). MCA uses 4 performance levels: Does Not Meet, Partially Meets, Meets, and Exceeds Standards.

What does "% Meets or Exceeds Standards" mean?

It is the percentage of students at the school whose scores were "Meets the Standards" or "Exceeds the Standards" on the MCA — the top 2 of 4 performance levels (Does Not Meet, Partially Meets, Meets, Exceeds). Meets and above is Minnesota's grade-level benchmark. A higher number is better.

How should I read a single score?

Each percent represents the share of tested students who performed at grade level or above. Compare the school number against the state, district, and county averages on this page to see whether it is above or below typical.

How is the state average calculated?

It is a weighted average, not a simple average of each school's number. We multiply each public school's score by how many of its students tested, add those together for all schools in Minnesota, and divide by the total students tested that year. This way a big school with 1,500 students counts more than a small school with 50 students, which is the right way to ask "how did the typical student do this year?". District and county averages on this page use the same method, just scoped to that district or county.

Where does this data come from?

Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment (MCA) + MTAS + Alternate MCA combined ("All Standards-Based"). School-level Percent Proficient from the MDE Assessment Files. Headline metric is the cumulative "Meets + Exceeds Standards" rate (top 2 of 4 MCA performance levels).

How often is it updated?

MCA is administered once a year (spring). Results are released by the state in the summer or early fall. We refresh this page after each annual release.