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An update from Academic Standards, Instruction and Assessment
March 4, 2026
Important Dates
March 2: MCA and MTAS/Alt MCA testing windows open
March 13: Last day to order additional paper test materials in WIDA AMS for WIDA assessments
March 20: End of WIDA assessment administration window; Last day to complete administration tasks in WIDA AMS
March 27: Deadline to ship paper ACCESS and WIDA Alternate ACCESS test materials to DRC
Quick Links
The WIDA assessment administration window continues through March 20. Please consider the following reminders as testing continues across your district.
Indicating Accommodations and Test Codes
For students who require accommodations or test codes (referred to as Do Not Score codes in WIDA AMS), districts should indicate these in WIDA AMS during the administration window. Detailed instructions can be found in the WIDA AMS User Guide and the Online Help articles, which are available on the WIDA AMS website and can be accessed by clicking the Help (?) icon while in the Test Management application.
It is strongly encouraged to enter applicable/available test codes directly in WIDA AMS by the end of the testing window since this can be more efficient than entering individual test codes during Posttest Editing. Note: Certain test codes, such as Not Enrolled (NE) and Medical Excuse (ME), are available only during Posttest Editing. See Chapter 9 of the Procedures Manual for details.
Verifying English Learner Status
Only students who are indicated as English learners (ELs) in enrollment data submitted to MDE (MARSS/Ed-Fi) are eligible to take a WIDA assessment.
While districts may review and update enrollment data during Posttest Editing, ongoing communication with your EL staff and MARSS Coordinator throughout the administration window is strongly recommended to ensure EL status is always reported accurately.
If a student tests without EL = Y indicated in submitted enrollment data, the test will be automatically invalidated in June. Once invalidated, the record cannot be reinstated.
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Districts should attempt to test all students who are enrolled during the testing windows. If a student moves during a testing window and has not tested in their former district, the new district should test the student.
A student who moves from one district to another near the end of the testing window and has not yet taken the test should be tested if possible.
If a student moves from another state and was administered the other state’s standards-based and/or English language proficiency accountability assessments, the student must be tested again in Minnesota if they are enrolled on the first day of the applicable testing window.
Refer to pages 258-259 of the Procedures Manual for additional information about students moving during the testing window.
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On-Demand Reports provide student scores for Mathematics MCA, Mathematics MTAS, and Science Alt MCA within 60 minutes after testing or data entry is completed. Student scores for Science MCA will be available within 72 hours after testing or data entry is completed due to additional time required to score constructed-response items. Results in On-Demand Reports can be generated as student detail reports (as a PDF) for individual students or downloaded in a list report (as a PDF or Excel spreadsheet). Refer to the On-Demand Reports and Export User Guide for more detailed information. Note: Due to 2025-26 being the first operational administration of the Reading MCA-IV and Reading Alt MCA, On-Demand Reports will not be available for these assessments this year.
Note: Districts determine whether to share On-Demand Reports for instructional purposes. Keep in mind that while there are extremely rare circumstances when a student’s results in the On-Demand Report could change, providing the information from On-Demand Reports is encouraged to provide timely information to teachers, students, and/or families. For more information, refer to the On-Demand Reports section in Chapter 11 of the Procedures Manual, beginning on page 285.
In order for staff with the Test Monitor/Data Entry or MTAS/Alt MCA Test Administrator user roles to access On-Demand Reports in PearsonAccess Next, reporting groups must be set up for them. There are three options for creating reporting groups—manually, exporting/importing a file, or directly from a test session. For more information, refer to the Reporting Groups User Guide.
While these results are encouraged to be used and shared for instructional purposes, student assessment results are embargoed and should not be discussed in public forums (for example, on social media), reflected in public meeting minutes (for example, school board meetings), or shared with the general public or media until the final assessment results have been released publicly. This includes any summarized results determined by the district using On-Demand Reports.
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In addition to the Test Security Training and training on the district’s policies and procedures for statewide assessments, staff members who are involved in the administration of statewide assessments have additional required trainings that must be completed annually. These requirements are outlined by test (WIDA ACCESS, WIDA Alternate ACCESS, MCA, and MTAS/Alt MCA) beginning on page 203 in the Procedures Manual.
For a list of the required test administration courses based on associated roles, refer to LMS Test Administration Catalog Courses and Posting Dates (2025-26).
District Policies and Procedures
In addition to MDE’s Test Security Training, each district is required to provide training to staff on their own district policies and procedures for statewide assessments. Because these policies and procedures are district-specific, it is the DAC’s responsibility to identify them in their own written District Policies and Procedures for Statewide Assessments. Refer to Required District Policies and Procedures for Statewide Assessments beginning on page 142 of the Procedures Manual for further information on the types of policies and procedures that need to be developed and shared within the district.
Each district determines how this information will be communicated to staff as appropriate for their role. For example, this may be through a district or school training, or in writing (as an email, handout, etc.), and it must be provided to staff before test administration begins. Documentation on how staff receive this training is commonly missed or not clearly documented by many districts and is a common finding in MDE’s training documentation audits.
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Test Eligibility for MCA and MTAS/Alt MCA
Students must be registered for the correct tests in PearsonAccess Next before they can be added to test sessions for MCA/Alt MCA or assigned for MTAS data entry. Information for all students enrolled in a district or school is sent nightly to Pearson in precode files throughout the testing windows.
New students, including students who have been identified as English learners, are also required to participate in the MCA or MTAS/Alt MCA if applicable for the student’s grade level. Thorough consideration of the available universal supports is encouraged for students who are new-to-country. Suggested supports for multilingual learners are found in Chapter 4 of the Procedures Manual.
If a student’s test eligibility does not appear in PearsonAccess Next, first verify the student’s information in Test WES under Precode Student Eligibility. Enter the student’s MARSS/SSID number to check on the following possibilities:
- If blank demographic fields appear when you enter the MARSS/SSID number, there is either an issue with the student enrollment record submitted to MDE, or the student has not been submitted to MDE. Work with your MARSS Coordinator to correct any issues and resubmit student enrollment data.
- The student record is being sent in precode for another district or school. The first column appearing in the Precode Eligibility table (at the bottom of the screen) is the district/school where the student record is being sent in precode. If the student is dual-enrolled, verify which district or school will be testing the student and manually change where the student will be testing, as needed, by selecting “Add” on the student’s information.
- The student record has not been sent in precode to Pearson. If a student was recently submitted in enrollment information to MDE, or if a change in Precode Student Eligibility was made recently, the record may not have been sent to Pearson yet. When changes are made through a student enrollment update, the student information and test eligibility is typically available in PearsonAccess Next two business days after the data is submitted.
More information is included in the Test WES Precode User Guide.
Universal Supports and Accommodations for MCA and Alt MCA
Districts can continue to make changes to universal supports and accommodations for MCA and Alt MCA in Test WES throughout the testing window. If paper test materials are needed (such as scripts, paper tests, or braille tests), they must be ordered in PearsonAccess Next. Refer to the Ordering Additional Test Materials resource on the User Guides page of the Minnesota Assessment Hub for more information, including the deadlines for ordering materials.
Districts must ensure that universal support/accommodation codes affecting a student’s online tests are indicated at least one business day prior to the student testing. This includes accommodated text-to-speech (MC) and pop-up translation codes (HM, SO, SP) for Mathematics MCA and the Read&Write TestNav extension (CR-W or CR-S) for Science MCA.
Please note that students can only be added to a session if they are eligible for the test assigned:
- Only students with the script/human reader accommodation code (HR) for Science MCA will be eligible for Science Script test sessions.
- Only students with the AT online form accommodations (AT-S and AT-N) will be eligible for the applicable AT test sessions for Reading and Science MCA and Alt MCA.
- Only students with an approved read-aloud accommodation (HR or RA) for the new Reading MCA will be eligible for the Read Aloud test sessions.
- Only students with an accommodation code requiring data entry (for example, 18 or HC) will be eligible for Data Entry test sessions. Note: A common irregularity last spring was that these codes were not indicated ahead of time and staff were attempting to enter student responses in the incorrect form that did not match the test materials. This requires the DAC to contact Pearson to reset the student’s test.
- All other students, including those students requiring accommodated text-to-speech, pop-up translations, or the Read&Write extension, will be eligible to be added to a regular test session (for example, Grade 07 Mathematics MCA).
Full details, including how to verify that the applicable codes appear in PearsonAccess Next, are included in the MCA Online Testing User Guide posted on the User Guides page and the MTAS/Alt MCA Data Entry and Online Testing User Guide posted on the Test Administration Resources page of the Minnesota Assessment Hub.
MTAS/Alt MCA in PearsonAccess Next
There are key differences in how district and school staff set up testing for Alt MCA or enter MTAS data in PearsonAccess Next:
- For the Mathematics MTAS, student scores and responses from the Data Collection Form are entered directly into PearsonAccess Next for scoring. Users with the MTAS/Alt MCA Test Administrator user role in PearsonAccess Next must be assigned to student tests in order to enter MTAS data. Users with the District Assessment Coordinator (DAC) or Assessment Administrator (AA) user role in PearsonAccess Next can enter student data without being assigned to student tests.
- For the Reading and Science Alt MCA, student responses are entered into TestNav for scoring. While the Alt MCA can be administered in online, paper, or hybrid (combination of online and paper) modes, all responses must be entered into TestNav. Prior to the student or staff entering responses in TestNav, the student must be added to a test session in PearsonAccess Next. Note: Test sessions are not created for Mathematics MTAS; refer to the above bullet for details on entering Mathematics MTAS scores directly into PearsonAccess Next.
For more information on entering MTAS data in PearsonAccess Next or creating test sessions for Alt MCA, refer to the MTAS/Alt MCA Task Administration Manual and the MTAS/Alt MCA Data Entry and Online Testing User Guide posted on the Test Administration Resources page of the Minnesota Assessment Hub.
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In response to changes in Minnesota’s statewide reading tests, MDE staff are preparing to submit a request for a one-year waiver from certain ESSA-related requirements to the U.S. Department of Education. If the waiver request is approved, MDE would not calculate reading progress or use reading data when identifying schools for support in 2026.
The draft waiver is posted on the Minnesota State Plan page of MDE’s website. Public comment can be sent to mde.essa@state.mn.us. The deadline to submit public comment is 5 p.m. on Friday, March 6.
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March Q&A Session: Closing WIDA Assessment Administration and General MCA and MTAS/Alt MCA Test Administration
MDE will host a virtual Q&A session for District Assessment Coordinators (DACs) from 2-3 p.m. on Tuesday, March 17, that will focus on the WIDA assessment administration window closure and general MCA and general MTAS/Alt MCA test administration. Register for the March Q&A Session. Please note that registration will close 24 hours in advance of the Q&A session. Details for joining will be provided when registrations are approved.
The prerequisites for the March Q&A session include the following chapters from the Procedures Manual: Chapter 8 (Test Administration), Chapter 9 (Student Participation and Students in Special Circumstances and Situations), and Chapter 10 (After Test Administration).
MDE collects questions from DACs prior to the event to help prepare and find relevant resources to share. After reviewing the prerequisites, submit questions for the March DAC Q&A Session. Q&A sessions will not be recorded nor will CEUs be provided as these are considered additional supports rather than training events.
March Alternate Assessment Chat and Connect (repeat)
The Academic Standards, Instruction and Assessment Division will host a series of virtual Chat and Connect sessions for MTAS/Alt MCA Test Administrators and special education staff. This will be an informal time for you to ask any questions around alternate assessment, share your feedback, and connect with other special education staff from across the state.
Join us via Zoom for the March session on Wednesday, March 11 from 4-5 p.m. Please register for the Alt Assessment Chat and Connect. In March we will learn about the 2026 MTAS/Alt MCA data entry process and test administration modes and discuss administration questions.
We will be meeting on the second Wednesday of each month during the school year. You only need to register once to join any of the monthly Chat and Connects that work for you. However, when registering for the first time, registration for each session closes 24 hours before the meeting time. The Alternate Assessment Chat and Connect dates for this year are March 11, April 8, and May 13 at 4 p.m. For more information, contact ALT.Assessment.MDE@state.mn.us.
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Academic Standards, Instruction and Assessment
Minnesota Department of Education
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