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An update from Academic Standards, Instruction and Assessment
Vol. 3, No. 8: April 7, 2025
Invitation for Science Item Writers 2025
The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) invites science educators to apply to the Science MCA-IV Item Writer Training in Summer 2025. The training will be 4.5 days total, with approximately 15–20 additional hours independently needed to complete the writing assignments. The 2025 item writer training will focus on writing engaging grade-level phenomena and questions tied to the 2019 Minnesota Science Standards. The goal is to generate creative thinking and to engage unique teaching approaches to build a repository of phenomena and questions for the Science MCA-IV.
Schedule and Process Details
Attend required training/work days:
- June 27 (half-day, virtual)
- July 16–17 (in-person)
- Aug. 5–6 (in-person)
Work independently to complete two phenomenon-based scenarios with 7–8 questions for each phenomenon by Aug. 11.
Benefits for Educators
- Build a robust understanding of and diverse perspectives on the 2019 Science standards.
- Offer insights to create quality assessments that impact 60,000 students per grade.
- Expand creative thinking while developing engaging grade-level phenomena and item ideas.
- Learn skills and practices that support strong classroom assessment.
- Collaborate with Science colleagues from across Minnesota.
- Earn Continuing Education Units (CEUs).
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Get paid for your work as an item writer.
If you are interested in being part of this Science MCA-IV Item Writer Training, please fill out the MCA Item Writer Workshop survey by April 25. Selected writers will be contacted the week of April 28–May 2. Writers will be chosen based on grade-level and content-area writing needs, as well as experience in developing assessments.
MDE encourages any teachers and educators interested in becoming a science item writer to apply. We want to grow the impact teachers have on our Science MCA-IV assessment and look forward to engaging with more teachers around the state. If you have colleagues who might be interested in participating, please send them this information.
Another way to be involved in Science MCA development is to register for MCA Educator Review Committees. Your input is vital in the development of items to the new science standards. MDE is always looking for more educators to become involved in the review process. This opportunity is open to science, math, language arts, EL, and special education teachers. Please contact Science Assessment Specialists Jim Wood (jim.wood@state.mn.us) and/or Judi Iverson (judi.iverson@state.mn.us) for more information.
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MDE Seeking Public Feedback on Reading Performance Level Descriptors
MDE is currently finalizing the Performance Level Descriptors (PLDs) that describe learning of the grade-level expectations set by benchmarks or extended benchmarks in the Minnesota Academic Standards in English Language Arts. In addition to describing what it means to be proficient on the Reading MCA-IV and Reading Alternate MCA following the first administration in Spring 2026, PLDs have several purposes, including:
- Making student test scores easier to understand for educators and families
- Identifying classroom instructional changes that best support a student’s learning progression
- Supporting educators to implement new standards and to analyze the depth of their curriculum, instruction, and classroom assessments
As part of the drafting process, MDE is holding a public review period to collect feedback from district staff, educators, and community members on the latest draft of the Reading MCA/Alt MCA PLDs. This feedback will ensure that multiple perspectives throughout Minnesota are considered to develop the final version of the documents.
Draft versions of the Reading MCA-IV and Alt MCA Performance Level Descriptor documents are located on the Performance Level Descriptors page of MDE’s website. Please note any feedback in one or both surveys:
MDE will be taking feedback until Sept. 8. If you have any questions, contact Dawn Cameron (dawn.cameron@state.mn.us).
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Personal Finance Guidance
During the 2023 Legislative Session, a graduation requirement for personal finance was passed into law. The law requires all Minnesota high school students, beginning with the class entering ninth grade in 2024, to take a course for credit in personal finance in order to graduate.
A statewide working group was convened to develop guidance on the implementation of this new requirement. The guidance was developed with the aim of recognizing and appreciating local community values and local control of educational content among Minnesota public schools. More information on the requirements and the guidance document are available on the MDE website.
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Minnesota Questions Tool: New Location
The Minnesota Questions Tool (MQT) link has been updated to https://pub.education.mn.gov/mqtapp/. Please update your bookmarks and share this updated link with your staff. The new link is live on the Released MCA Questions page of the Testing 1, 2, 3 website.
The MQT provides access to released or sample questions from past Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCAs) and MTAS/Alternate MCA across all subjects (reading, mathematics, and science) and multiple grade levels. The questions in the MQT are intended to support educators in understanding how the academic standards are assessed on the MCA and MTAS/Alternate MCA, to help identify student misconceptions, and to provide examples of questions that assess student understanding at different Depth of Knowledge (DOK) levels.
While the MQT has been an educator resource for several years, MDE has recently updated this tool to distinguish between MCA-III and MCA-IV aligned questions during the transition to the new series of assessments. Users will now be able to select the assessment you are interested in (MCA or Alt MCA), then the subject area (Mathematics, Science, Reading) and grade level. MTAS released questions are still available using a direct link at the bottom of the tool’s screen.
Released or sample questions are aligned to benchmarks in the relevant Minnesota Academic Standards in Mathematics, English Language Arts, or Science. Currently, the questions in MQT are aligned to the following tests and academic standards:
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Test Series
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Standards Alignment
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Science MCA-IV and Alternate MCA
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2019 Minnesota Academic Standards in Science
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Reading MCA-III and MTAS
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2010 Minnesota Academic Standards in English Language Arts
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Reading Alternate MCA
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2020 Minnesota Academic Standards in English Language Arts
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Mathematics MCA-III and MTAS
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2007 Minnesota Academic Standards in Mathematics
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Mathematics Alternate MCA
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2022 Minnesota Academic Standards in Mathematics
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MDE is working toward releasing questions aligned to standards assessed on the Reading MCA-IV for the 2025–2026 school year. If you have questions about the MQT, contact MDE Testing.
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Curriculum Director Meeting
MDE hosts three virtual Curriculum Director Meetings in 2024–25. The third and final 2024–25 Curriculum Director Meeting will take place in May, with registration required:
Curriculum Director Meetings are intended to provide legislative updates, standards implementation and timeline guidance, information around educational trends or topics, and technical assistance on various topics—as well as an opportunity to learn about other MDE divisions and supports.
Note: In response to the survey data from the last Curriculum Director Meeting in January, READ Act information will be delivered from the Literacy Division next to the May Curriculum Leaders Meeting from 8:30–9 a.m. and 3:30–4 p.m. Use the links above to access the full meeting sponsored by the Division of Academic Standards, Instruction and Assessment and Literacy Division.
Curriculum Director Meetings are a great opportunity to connect with MDE’s Academic Standards team and network with other curriculum directors. Also, if your district experienced a curriculum director(s) change, visit Schools and Organizations (MDE-ORG). Within MDE-ORG, select Contact List from the left menu, then District Curriculum Leaders. There, you can verify and update the contact information for your curriculum director(s).
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Alternate Assessment April Chat and Connect
What: MTAS/Alternate MCA test administrators and special education staff are invited to meet with MDE alternate assessment specialists to give feedback, ask questions, and connect with other special education staff from across the state.
Why: Give feedback on the 2025 MTAS/Alt MCA administration, learn about Spring 2026 MTAS/Alt MCA changes, and have your questions answered.
When: April 15, 4–5 p.m. Series will continue monthly, meeting the third Tuesday of each month. The last Alternate Assessment Chat and Connect for this school year is May 20 at 4 p.m. Register once for the entire series of monthly meetings.
Where: Via Zoom.
How: Register for the Alt Assessment Chat and Connect
Contact: Alt.Assessment.MDE@state.mn.us
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Division of Academic Standards, Instruction and Assessment
Minnesota Department of Education
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