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An update from Academic Standards, Instruction and Assessment
Vol. 3, No. 10: June 4, 2025
Note: There will be no July edition of Educator Edition newsletter.
Science MCA and Alt MCA Results Release
Student results from the new Science MCA and Science Alternate MCA (Alt MCA) will be released in the fall. This year was the first administration of these new assessments, which are aligned to the updated 2019 Minnesota K–12 Academic Standards in Science.
All new assessments must go through a “standard setting” process before scores can be released. This process will take place in summer 2025. During standard setting, Minnesota educators will work together to make recommendations for what students need to know and be able to do at each performance level. There are four performance levels for the new series of assessments: Beginning, Intermediate, Meets, and Advanced. The standard setting committees will recommend cut scores, which determine the corresponding level for each score. Watch the Overview of the Standard Setting Process for MCA and Alternate MCA video for more information.
Figure 1: Cut Scores Separating the MCA and Alt MCA Performance Levels
 Once standard setting is complete, student results are prepared for reporting to districts and the public. The typical process for reporting results is to first make final student-level and summary assessment results available to districts in Assessment Secure Reports (beginning with District and School Student Results [DSR/SSR] files and then Test Results Summary reports). This allows districts time to review their data for use in curriculum and instructional decision-making for the following year. These results are “embargoed,” meaning districts and schools may begin reviewing and using results for planning purposes but cannot share or discuss them publicly. When MDE lifts the embargo, final assessment results are then made available to the public on the Minnesota Report Card and the Data Reports and Analytics pages of the MDE website, and Individual Student Reports (ISRs) are provided to districts for distribution to families.
The timeline for science results release is provided in the following table. Note: While MDE strives to ensure these dates remain unaltered, they are subject to change based on extenuating circumstances.
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Event
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Date
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Embargoed final student results available in DSR/SSR files in Assessment Secure Reports (Science MCA and Science Alt MCA only)
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Sept. 12
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Embargoed final school, district, and state summary results available in Test Results Summary in Assessment Secure Reports (Science MCA and Science Alt MCA only)
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Sept. 19
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Public release of final assessment results on MDE website (Science MCA and Science Alt MCA only)
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Oct. 1
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ISRs (Science MCA and Science Alt MCA only) and student labels (all subjects) arrive in district (unless districts request not to receive ISR paper copies)
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Oct. 1
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For more details about the results release for all statewide assessments, refer to the “Important Dates for Results Release” on the Policies and Procedures page of PearsonAccess Next.
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MDE Seeking Public Feedback on Reading Performance Level Descriptors
MDE is currently finalizing the Performance Level Descriptors (PLDs) that describe grade-level learning 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 (Alt MCA) following the first administration in Spring 2026, PLDs have several purposes or uses, including:
- Facilitating interpretation of student test scores by educators and families
- Identifying classroom instructional changes that best support a student’s learning progression
- Supporting educators in the implementation of new standards and in the analysis of 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-IV/Alt MCA PLDs. This feedback will ensure that multiple perspectives throughout Minnesota are considered in the development of 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 September 8. If you have any questions, contact Dawn Cameron (dawn.cameron@state.mn.us).
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List of Cannabis Model Programs
In accordance in Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 120B.215, MDE is releasing a list of Cannabis Model Programs on the Health Standards webpage as a resource for schools and districts to reference. Please note this statute also is a part of the Health Standards Committee’s Guiding Assumptions.
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Empower {MN:CS} 2025 Computer Science Conference
What: Join the MDE STEM/CS Integration specialist at the Empower{MN:CS} Conference hosted by Northern Lights Collaborative for Computing Education. The conference is a three-day Computer Science (CS) education conference offering five workshops. Topics include artificial intelligence, data science, CS integration, and more. Come grow your own CS education skills and meet others from around Minnesota. Join us August 6 for the first Computer Science District Leaders meeting of the 2025–26 school year.
Who: Anyone involved with or interested in K–12 Computer Science education, new to CS education or experienced CS educators, administrators, district support staff, CS integration, or CS specialists
When: August 5–7
Where: University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus
How: View the Empower{MN:CS} website for more information. Contact nlcollaborative@umn.edu with any questions.
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Native Arts Institute and Cohort
What: This cohort supports K–12 arts educators in the design of meaningful and authentic learning experiences about Dakota and Ojibwe arts. Learn with Iyekiyapiwiƞ Darlene St. Clair; artists, makers, and performers from Tribal Nations in Minnesota; and MDE arts specialists. Supported by three professional development days, participants will put their summer institute learning into action by developing at least one unit of study aligned to the 2018 arts standards that integrates Dakota and/or Ojibwe arts for the 2025–26 school year.
Who: K–12 Arts Educators
When: The cohort kicks off with a three-day summer institute from August 5–7, located tentatively at Tinta Wita, the Prairie Island Indian Community.
How: Visit MDE’s Culturally Responsive Arts Education page for more details and registration information.
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Culturally Responsive Arts Curriculum Institute and Cohort
What: The institute lays the foundation for a yearlong professional development opportunity and will support arts educators in identifying inequities in their current arts curriculum and ways to make it more culturally responsive by using MDE’s Culturally Responsive Arts Education Curriculum Audit.
Who: K–12 Arts Educators
When: The cohort will kick off with a three-day summer institute from July 8–10.
How: Visit MDE’s Culturally Responsive Arts Education page for more details and registration information.
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Division of Academic Standards, Instruction and Assessment
Minnesota Department of Education
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