Questions and Answers about the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments

What are the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCAs)?

These are tests Minnesota schools give every year to measure student performance on our state standards. These standards outline what our students should know and do in a particular grade.

 Why do we give these tests?

We use the MCAs to show how well students have learned the concepts and skills. After your child takes one of these tests, your school gives you a report that explains your child’s progress.

• It gives you information on your child’s reading, math, or writing skills.
• It shows how well your child is doing compared to other students in the state

Schools use the information from these tests to improve teaching and learning. Teachers and principals look for areas where students do well. They can reinforce the ways they teach these skills. They also look for areas that need improvement. They may alter the ways they teach these areas, or they may increase the time they give to them.

The MCAs also follow Minnesota’s rules for testing and the federal No Child Left Behind Act. These laws require that tests be given in grades 3-8 and in high school by 2006.

Who must take what tests?

All public school students must take these tests in these grades:

What is covered on the test?

Reading

On the reading test, students read both fiction and nonfiction such as poems, recipes, short stories, directions, or a page from a grade-level textbook. They answer questions about concepts and skills such as:

• main ideainformation contained in charts or graphs
• retelling of a story in their own words
• fact and opinion
• author’s bias
• analysis or evaluation of the text
• specialized vocabulary in context.

Writing

On the writing test students write one composition on topics such as:

• describe a place to visit
• propose a solution to a problem in school
• explain why you like your favorite place to visit
• write about a dream job
• write about a time you learned something.

Compositions are evaluated for clarity of ideas, organization, use of vocabulary, correct grammar, and spelling.