MCA scores steady, attendance improves in new state student data
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SAINT PAUL, Minnesota. Aug. 29, 2024 – The state of Minnesota’s new investments in the educator workforce and the learning conditions of students are not yet reflected in results of the state’s system of standardized tests, Denise Specht, president of Education Minnesota, said Thursday after the state released new data on student test scores and attendance.
“Raising the academic achievement of all the students who take the state’s MCA tests will be difficult when more than 80% of school districts are still reporting a shortage of qualified educators to teach the material. Too many schools still lack sufficient mental health teams, class sizes are too large and too many students are missing too much school,” Specht said. “The Legislature and Gov. Tim Walz have made historic investments in public education and that will help. We’re on the right track, but not there yet.”
On Thursday, the Minnesota Department of Education released its 2024 North Star Accountability report, which includes the results of the 2024 Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments, or MCAs, and other standardized tests. It also includes attendance data.
The department reported that overall scores remained steady for all students in reading, mathematics and science in 2023-24 compared to the previous school year. These scores were lower than the scores of students who took similar tests before the COVID-19 pandemic. The state reported that attendance data for the 2022-23 school year show consistent attendance rates improved among all student groups from last year.
North Star attendance data tracks the number of students who are attending school at least 90% of the time and who are not chronically absent. Statewide consistent attendance rose to 74.5% of students, up from 69.8% in 2022, the department said.
Specht said parents who are concerned about the academic progress of their students should talk to their teachers and local principals because average test scores can be extremely misleading, especially when applied to individual schools and small districts. The scores of the students with special needs, who are learning English, are chronically absent, or have opted out of the test will affect the average.
For example, in 2024, 7% of Minnesota students did not participate in state math tests and 5.5% did not take the reading tests, including by opting out. The Minnesota Department of Education accounts for these students in different ways. Their scores are excluded from assessment results, making it difficult to know which students are included in the average scores, but counted as “not proficient” in the North Star accountability data. The department said that is a key reason accountability achievement results differ from assessment results.
“I’m encouraged by the fact that the department is being more transparent about the limitations of this data, especially as more parents are seeing that these tests are often not worth the time and anxiety of their children,” Specht said. “The state could do a better job of explaining what this data say, and don’t say, about the academic progress of Minnesota students.”
About Education Minnesota
Education Minnesota is the voice for professional educators and students. Education Minnesota’s members include teachers and education support professionals in Minnesota’s public school districts, faculty members at Minnesota’s community and technical colleges and University of Minnesota campuses in Duluth and Crookston, retired educators and student teachers. Education Minnesota is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association and AFL-CIO.
