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An update from Academic Standards, Instruction and Assessment
July 29, 2026
Important Dates
Aug. 3: Preliminary embargoed school and district accountability results available in Secure Reports
Aug. 3-7: Appeals window for accountability results
Aug. 18: Embargoed final Reading MCA/Alt MCA student results available in DSR/SSR files in Secure Reports
Quick Links
Summarized assessment results are available in the Test Results Summary on MDE’s Assessment Secure Reports webpage. The Test Results Summary reports contain final summary data at the school, district, and state levels for Math and Science MCA, Math MTAS, Science Alt MCA, and WIDA Alternate ACCESS. Final assessment results, including DSR/SSR files and Test Results Summary reports, are embargoed and cannot be shared publicly until the MDE public release of results on September 30. During the embargo, districts are encouraged to use these results for curriculum and instructional decision-making purposes, but results cannot be shared publicly or on social media. Embargoed results can also be used to prepare for questions from the media and local stakeholders when results are released publicly. Chapter 11 of the Procedures Manual includes more information about the embargo. Note: If embargo policies are not followed, a security violation must be submitted through Assessment Security Records (ASR) in Test WES.
Note: Due to summer standard setting for new assessments, final Reading MCA and Alternate MCA student-level results will have a delayed release, with the reading DSR/SSR files available on Aug. 18 and Test Results Summary reports available on Sept. 18. WIDA ACCESS and WIDA ACCESS for Kindergarten with updated proficiency levels will be posted later this fall. For more details about reading results release, refer to the 2025-26 Important Dates for Results Release document on the Policies and Procedures page of the Minnesota Assessment Hub.
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Pearson is transitioning from PearsonAccess Next to new platforms: LaunchPad and ADAM (Assessment Delivery and Management). LaunchPad will be available in fall 2026 and will include two types of users:
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Student users: Student enrollment data sent to Pearson in precode files from Test WES (data will be view only)
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Non-student users: Staff login accounts used to access the Learning Management System (LMS) and ADAM based on their user role
Access to PearsonAccess Next in Fall 2026
District Assessment Coordinators (DACs) and Assessment Administrators (AAs) will continue to have access to PearsonAccess Next until the platform is decommissioned in the fall. During this time, DACs and AAs should not create or edit other user accounts (for example, Test Monitor/Data Entry, MTAS/Alt MCA Test Administrator, Technology, etc.) in PearsonAccess Next because users will need to be re-created in LaunchPad. However, they should delete accounts for staff who are no longer in the district or who no longer need access to PearsonAccess Next. Refer to the PearsonAccess Next User Accounts Guide (2025-26) on the User Guides page of the Minnesota Assessment Hub for additional information on user management tasks in PearsonAccess Next.
Creating Non-Student Users in LaunchPad
When LaunchPad opens, DAC accounts will be automatically created based on contact information provided in MDE-ORG. DACs will be responsible for creating new non-student user accounts in LaunchPad for all staff who need access to ADAM and/or the LMS. Non-student users can be created manually or through a file upload.
Pearson will provide both live and recorded trainings outlining non-student user management in LaunchPad. A user guide will also be available later this fall to provide instructions on creating, editing, and deactivating non-student user accounts in LaunchPad.
Refer to the Transition Updates page of the Minnesota Assessment Hub for all recent Assessment Update articles about Pearson’s transition to LaunchPad and ADAM.
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Each district has a Site Verification Coordinator (SVC) who maintains and updates all contact information in MDE-ORG, and you can find the SVC for your district in MDE-ORG. If your SVC has any questions about the DAC update process, they can contact mde.school-verify@state.mn.us for support.
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Academic Standards, Instruction and Assessment
Minnesota Department of Education
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