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An update from Academic Standards, Instruction and Assessment
Sept. 16, 2026
Important Dates
Sept. 18: Embargoed final Reading MCA-IV/Alt MCA school, district, and state summary results available in Test Results Summary in Secure Reports
Sept. 18: Preliminary embargoed school and district accountability results (Academic Roster and North Star Report) available in Secure Reports
Sept. 24: Deadline for accountability report appeals
Sept. 25: Deadline to request score appeals, transcription requests, test booklet searches, or data corrections for WIDA ACCESS and WIDA Alternate ACCESS
Sept. 30: Public release of final assessment and accountability results on MDE website; ISRs arrive in districts
Quick Links
Final summary-level results for the 2026 Reading MCA-IV and Alternate MCA will be available in Test Results Summary on Sept. 18.
Results Release Process
Final student-level and summary assessment results are released to districts in Assessment Secure Reports, beginning with District and School Student Results (DSR/SSR) files and then Test Results Summary reports by end of this week. These results are embargoed, meaning districts and schools may begin reviewing and using results for planning purposes but may not 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 MDE’s website, and Individual Student Reports (ISRs) are provided to districts for distribution to families. Results will be reported publicly on Sept. 30.
Resources
An updated user guide for Test Results Summary was posted on the Assessment Secure Reports page to include information aspecific to reading results.
As we approach public release, MDE has created a resource to support districts with the release of the new reading results and continued academic standards implementation. The Guidance for Reading MCA-IV and Alternate MCA Results Release document provides an overview of the revised Minnesota Academic Standards and new statewide assessments in reading, as well as guidance and resources for using these results for future planning and continuous improvement for standards implementation. It is available on the District Resources page under the Test Score Interpretation Resources header.
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The public release of the assessment and accountability data for the 2025-26 school year and North Star consistent attendance data for the 2024-25 school year will be released the morning of Sept. 30. Course-based indicator data (well-rounded education, ninth grade course completion, and career and college readiness coursework) for 2024-25 will also be released at that time; that data is for reporting purposes only and not used for accountability. MDE is planning to send school districts and charter schools an email with links to embargoed statewide data on Sept. 28; select media will receive a similar email on Sept. 29. All data shared prior to Sept. 30 is considered embargoed, and it should not be shared in any way that could lead to the information becoming public prior to the Sept. 30 release.
MDE will host a webinar for District Assessment Coordinators and communications staff at 2 p.m. Sept. 22 and 11:30 a.m. Sept. 23 to go over the structure of the data files and answer questions ahead of the public release. The content will be the same in both sessions.
There is no need to RSVP. Those wishing to attend can use the link below to access the webinar:
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Final Individual Student Reports (ISRs) for MCA/MTAS/Alt MCAs and the WIDA assessments are scheduled to arrive in districts on Wednesday, Sept. 30 or Thursday, Oct. 1. Note: The majority of MCA/MTAS/Alt MCA reports will be delivered on Wednesday, Sept. 30, but some shipments will arrive Thursday, Oct. 1. With shipping delivery windows, a small percentage of shipments may arrive on Friday, Oct. 2.
Since ISRs contain private student data, it is important for districts to ensure someone is available to receive the reports and secure them until distribution. The final reports shipment will be sent to districts, and each school will have its own box labeled with the school name. For nonpublic schools, final reports will be packaged and shipped directly to each school.
WIDA Assessments Reports Shipment
The boxes will include the following reports for the WIDA assessments:
- ISRs
- Student Roster Reports
- District and School Frequency Reports
The following resources for families are available on WIDA’s website:
The following resources for district and school staff are available on WIDA’s website:
If you have any questions regarding your shipment, contact DRC Customer Service at WIDA@datarecognitioncorp.com or 855-787-9615.
MCA/MTAS/Alt MCA Reports Shipment
The boxes will include the following for MCA and MTAS/Alt MCA:
- Packing list of contents and cover memo (in box 1 for each school)
- ISRs for MCA and MTAS/Alt MCA
- Each subject will have a separate ISR.
- Reports will be sorted by grade, student demographics, test subject, and test administration (MCA or MTAS/Alt MCA).
- To assist with the sorting, each ISR is marked with a color tab according to grade, subject, and assessment. The packing list indicates the sort order and corresponding color tabs.
- Student results labels, which will continue to contain results for all three subjects on one label.
In addition, personalized video ISRs will be provided for math and science and are accessed from the ISRs. For reading, an overview ISR video describing changes to the new assessment will be available.
The following resources for district and school staff are available on MDE and Pearson’s websites:
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ISR Quick Guides: These quick guides for reading, math, and science MCA and MTAS/Alt MCA provide a high-level overview of how to read the ISRs. These quick guides are posted to the ISR Resources page of the Minnesota Assessment Hub and will soon be posted on MDE’s Assessment Results page for students and families. Translated versions of these resources will also be available under Translated Documents; a future Assessment Update will confirm availability. (Note: ISR Quick Guides are also posted on the District Resources page under Test Score Interpretation Resources.)
- Samples of MCA and MTAS/Alt MCA ISRs are on the ISR Resources page on the Minnesota Assessment Hub.
If you have any questions regarding your shipment, submit a Pearson help desk request or call the Pearson help desk at 888-817-8659. If you have any questions about the data reported on the ISR, contact mde.testing@state.mn.us.
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Pearson will provide the Introduction to LaunchPad/ADAM training for new and experienced DACs on Thursday, Oct. 1 from 9-10 a.m. This virtual training provides an introduction and high-level overview of Pearson’s new platforms, LaunchPad and ADAM. During this training, Pearson will also review the training plan and important dates for test administration.
Register for the Pearson Introduction to LaunchPad/ADAM Training. Participants need to register at least 24 hours before the training to be approved. MDE will review and approve all registrations Wednesday morning, Sept. 30. Once approved, participants will receive an email (Subject: Introduction to LaunchPad and ADAM Confirmation, From: David Minehart <no-reply@zoom.us>). If you do not receive an approval email, check your spam or junk folders. The email contains a link to join the meeting, as well as the meeting ID and passcode if joining directly from Zoom.
A recorded version of the training will be posted to the Learning Management System (LMS) on Friday, Oct. 2.
Contact the Pearson help desk with any questions at 888-817-8659 or submit a Pearson help desk request online.
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In late November, some final reports available in PearsonAccess Next under Published Reports will be moved to the new ADAM platform under Report Assets.
The following reports will be available in ADAM:
- Individual Student Reports (ISRs) (2022-26)
- ISRs – Separated by student (2026 only)
- Labels (2026 only)
- Math MCA-III Benchmark Reports (2022-26)
- ISR Video List (2026 only)
- Testing Time Report (2026 only)
If you would like to retain access to historical reports from spring 2021 and earlier, or reports that are not moved to ADAM, please download those reports from Published Reports and save locally. PearsonAccess Next will sunset later this fall after reports are moved to ADAM. Any reports not moved to ADAM will no longer be available to districts.
Refer to the Published Reports in PearsonAccess Next quick guide on the Additional Reporting Resources page of the Minnesota Assessment Hub for details on viewing and downloading Published Reports in PearsonAccess Next.
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The deadline to submit a scoring appeal, transcription request, or test booklet search for spring 2026 WIDA assessments is Friday, Sept. 25.
Scoring appeals may be requested for the Writing (Paper or Online) or Speaking (Online only) domains of the grades 1-12 WIDA ACCESS when there is concern that a student’s test was scored incorrectly. DACs must email mde.testing@state.mn.us with the student’s MARSS/SSID number and a clear rationale for the appeal. Please note that scoring appeals are rare and, in most cases, do not result in a change.
Transcription requests may be submitted when there is concern that a student or Test Administrator did not use a number 2 pencil or did not completely fill in the bubble or answer area on paper test materials.
Test booklet searches may be requested when a student’s score is missing and it is suspected that a completed test booklet 1) had a district/school label but no student information bubbled, 2) included student information but no district/school label, or 3) had a Do Not Score Label applied.
Additional details, including possible costs, are available in Chapter 10 of the Procedures Manual starting on page 275.
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WIDA has released updated materials for the 2026-27 WIDA ACCESS testing year. The newly revised WIDA ACCESS Test Administrator Manual, District and School Test Coordinator Manual, and Test Administrator Essentials are now available in the WIDA Secure Portal.
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MDE issued reimbursements to districts based on the requests entered by the Sept. 4 deadline in the Graduation Requirements Records system. The payment is identified with “ACT/SAT REIM2026-09-11,” followed by a unique number (for example, B0000039).
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Academic Standards, Instruction and Assessment
Minnesota Department of Education
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