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An update from Academic Standards, Instruction and Assessment
Sept. 23, 2026
Important Dates
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
Oct. 2: Benchmark Reports (Math MCA only) posted in PearsonAccess Next
Oct. 12: Subscore Reports available on the Minnesota Assessment Hub
Oct. 14: Deadline to request a late student response entry or request a rescore for MCA, Alt MCA, or MTAS
Quick Links
Final assessment results will be reported publicly by Wednesday, Sept. 30. To accommodate the release of the 2026 results, the Minnesota Report Card will be unavailable from Sept. 29 until Sept. 30 at 8 a.m.
After results are released publicly, assessment results information will be available in two places on the MDE website for families, educators, and community members to access.
- The Minnesota Report Card allows users to create graphs and tables to view results for various groups of students across the state as well as within districts and schools. The Minnesota Report Card User Guide (located on the Minnesota Report Card in the Using the Report Card menu choice) provides information on interpreting and using the data on the Report Card.
- The Assessment Files provide summary assessment data for the state, counties, districts, and schools and are available as Excel (.xlsx) files. Please note information about the content of the file is available on the last tab of each file.
Resources
The following resources are also available to help districts use and understand statewide assessment results following their public release:
- MDE has created resources to support districts in using the MCA-IV results and continuing academic standards implementation. The Guidance for Reading MCA-IV and Alternate MCA Results Release and Guidance for Science MCA-IV and Alternate MCA Results Release documents provide an overview of the revised Minnesota Academic Standards and new statewide assessments in reading and science, as well as guidance and resources for using these results for future planning and continuous improvement for standards implementation. They are posted on the District Resources page under Test Score Interpretation Resources.
- Chapter 11 of the Procedures Manual provides guidelines for using assessment data.
- The recording of the New DAC Reporting Training, which is available in the Learning Management System (LMS).
- A Posttest Editing Discrepancies report is available in Test WES. This contains a list of any discrepancies that remained for your district after the close of Posttest Editing. If questions arise about a student’s results (for example, reason for invalidation), this report may be helpful. To review the report, select Posttest Discrepancies under File Transfer on the Test WES Dashboard. The discrepancies on the report cannot be resolved.
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Personalized video ISRs for students with Math MCA/MTAS and Science MCA/Alt MCA scores will be available when final results are released on Sept. 30. These videos include an overview of the student’s performance in each subject taken, as well as their performance related to the school, district, and state averages. In addition to English, video ISRs may be available in a home language based on student enrollment data, if specified (Amharic, Arabic, Chinese, Hmong, Karen, Oromo, Russian, Somali, Spanish, and Vietnamese). Parents/guardians can access video ISRs by scanning a QR code on the ISR with a smart device or by contacting their student’s school for a link to access the video report. Video list files (csv) with links to the video ISRs will be available at the school or district level under Published Reports in PearsonAccess Next. A Video ISR Resources FAQ document for personalized video ISRs is available on the ISR Resources page of the Minnesota Assessment Hub under the Video Resources header.
Note: Due to standard setting for the new reading assessments, there are no personalized video ISRs for the Reading MCA/Alt MCA. The QR code on the reading ISRs links to the Overview of the New Reading Assessments video. This video is also available on the ISR Resources page under the Video Resources header.
ISR Resources for MCA/MTAS/Alt MCA
Two-page ISR quick guides describing the sections of the ISR for each subject and test are posted on the ISR Resources page of the Minnesota Assessment Hub under the Resources for Families header. Sample ISRs are also available for reference on the ISR Resources page under the Sample ISRs header.
As the Translated ISR quick guides become available, they will be posted to the Translated Documents page of the MDE website.
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The draft 2028-29 Testing Calendar is posted on the Statewide Testing page, under the Testing Calendars expandable header. Send any comments to mde.testing@state.mn.us. Draft testing calendars are posted for one year before they are finalized. The 2026-27 Testing Calendar and 2027-28 Testing Calendar are also available.
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Each year, districts are required to have written District Policies and Procedures for Statewide Assessments that address how test security policies and procedures will be implemented. These procedures must be reviewed and updated each school year. Districts may create their own procedure or use the updated template available on the Policies and Procedures page of the Minnesota Assessment Hub, but all topics in the template must be addressed. A new requirement for 2026-27 has been added to the template: The district’s process for ensuring staff are aware of the available universal supports and accommodations when making decisions about appropriate supports for students.
The MDE Test Security and Data Integrity (TSDI) team will select a sampling of districts and review their district policies and procedures beginning in October. The TSDI team will then provide feedback and may recommend changes and/or require action. Districts are randomly selected, and District Assessment Coordinators (DACs) at selected districts will be contacted in mid-October with a request for a copy of their District Policies and Procedures. Even if your district is not contacted for an MDE review, ensure your district policies and procedures are in place before testing begins for 2026-27.
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In October, MDE and Pearson will present the New DAC Orientation, which will provide an overview of the various roles and responsibilities of a DAC, the statewide assessments administered in Minnesota, relevant MDE, Pearson, and WIDA systems, available resources, and training opportunities. This training is specifically designed for new DACs; however, more experienced DACs are also welcome to attend.
MDE is offering this training in two formats: a two-part series of live virtual trainings on back-to-back days, and a pre-recorded training that will be posted in the LMS. MDE recommends that DACs attend the virtual sessions, if possible, as they will provide new DACs the chance to interact with other DACs from around the state and to get immediate feedback during question-and-answer portions of the training.
To prepare for the orientation, new DACs are encouraged to review the New District Assessment Coordinators: Getting Access document which is posted under the District Assessment Coordinator Resources expandable header on MDE’s District Resources page.
Registration links are posted below. Please note: All participants must register for the event using an email address associated with their school, district, or educational agency. MDE will manually approve all registrations prior to the event. Once registrations are approved, participants will receive a confirmation email with the link to the event.
MDE aims to deliver its presentations in a way that will be accessible for all participants. If you anticipate needing accommodations, please contact mde.testing@state.mn.us. MDE requests a two-week advance notice to provide accommodations and a 48-hour notice to cancel them. If the request comes within two weeks of the event, MDE will still make an effort to provide the accommodation.
Note: No in-person training will be provided this year. If you are unable to attend the virtual New DAC Orientation, a pre-recorded version will be available in the LMS on Oct. 9.
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Districts are required to post a comprehensive testing calendar on the district website; this information may also be posted on school-level websites if the district chooses. The calendar must be published at least one week prior to any eligible assessments being administered, but no later than Oct. 1.
Districts may choose how to display the information (for example, in a chart or a calendar format), but it should be presented in a way that is easy for the public to access. Core requirements for the information that must be included on the district testing calendar have not changed and are detailed in Chapter 6 of the Procedures Manual.
If a district has not yet established specific dates when students will be testing, MDE recommends using previous years’ timeframes as a starting place and then updating them as testing schedules are known or changed. Districts are responsible for updating their posted testing calendar throughout the school year in a timely manner.
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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. 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 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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Academic Standards, Instruction and Assessment
Minnesota Department of Education
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