RELEASE: Minnesota Department of Education Releases 2015 MCA Scores
Minnesota Department of Education sent this bulletin at 07/30/2015 07:51 AM CDT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JULY 30, 2015
Contact: Josh Collins, 651-582-8205, josh.collins@state.mn.us
Minnesota Department of Education Releases 2015 MCA Scores
ROSEVILLE – Today, the Minnesota Department of Education released scores for the 2015 Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCAs). Overall the statewide proficiency data show reading scores generally remained constant or increased slightly, while math scores remained largely constant or declined slightly.
“We can never be satisfied with anything less than forward progress,” said Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius. “We know there is still much work to do to ensure our students are ready for career and college, but it is important to remember that one single test cannot provide parents with a comprehensive picture of how a student is doing. Ultimately, teachers remain the best source of information on an individual student’s progress.”
Since 2011, when a new math test was implemented, scores are up 6 percentage points for all students in grades 3-8. A new math test aligned to college- and career-ready standards was put in place for grade 11 in 2014. Since 2013, when the new reading test aligned to college- and career-ready standards was implemented, scores are up 1 percentage point for all students, with Asian students posting a 5 percentage point increase and American Indian students up by 4 percentage points.
The department also released today an independent statistical analysis by Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO) that analyzed online testing disruptions that occurred during this spring’s MCA testing. HumRRO’s analysis is limited to the distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack that occurred on April 21, finding “no statistical evidence to suggest that the disruption, on average, adversely impacted students who were testing when the DDoS attack occurred.” The analysis does not evaluate the impact of other reported disruptions such as issues with the online calculator, lag time for questions to load, or students being logged out while still in the middle of taking the test had on individual student test scores.
The department is committed to ensuring students and teachers have a worry-free testing experience without interruptions that provides them with timely and useful data. The department is currently working with the state’s testing vendor, Pearson, to determine financial consequences and possible changes to our contract for a successful 2016 testing administration. A determination in this matter is expected in the coming weeks.
MCA results will be found on the Minnesota Report Card, at http://rc.education.state.mn.us.
View the 2015 MCA Scores Fact Sheet
View the 2015 MCA Results Presentation
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