Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment (MCA)

The MCA (Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment) measures student progress toward Minnesota's academic standards and meets the requirements of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

The Title I section of ESSA requires that all public school students be assessed in grades 3–8 and once in high school in reading and mathematics state accountability calculations. Testing of science is also required for ESSA but is not included in AYP or MMR calculations. Students take one test in each subject. Most students take the MCA, but some students who receive special education services may meet eligibility criteria may take the Minnesota Test of Academic Skills (MTAS). More information about MCA tests can be found on the  page.

Required by: State of Minnesota

Content Area/Subject: Reading. Math, Science

Purpose: Meets federal ESSA accountability requirements. Measures how well academic standards are being aligned to curriculum and instruction in our schools, to ensure that all students in the state are provided an equitable education.

Participants: all students in Grades 3-8 and 10 (Reading), All students in Grades 3-8 and 11 (Math), All students Grades 5, 8 and HS students taking a Life Science Course (Science)

Mode of Administration: online

Test Length: Untimed, average test duration: Reading 2.5-3.5 hours, Math 1.5-2.5 hours, Science 1.75-2.0 hours

Accessing Your Child's MCA Results:

• Individual Student Reports (ISR): Each year, MDE sends paper Individual Student Reports (ISR) to the school district. Once received in the district, ISRs will be distributed to families by US mail, during August Back-to-School events, or during fall conferences.
• Campus Parent Portal: Parents can also view their child’s final MCA test scores in Campus Parent Portal. .

ACCESS

The ACCESS and Alternate ACCESS for ELLs are the assessments developed by the WIDA consortium and administered to English learners in order to measure progress toward meeting Minnesota’s standards for English language development, developed by the WIDA consortium. Most English learners will take the ACCESS for ELLs, but English learners who received special education services and meet the participation guidelines may take the Alternate ACCESS for ELLs. 

More information about ACCESS tests can be found on the  page.

Required by: State of Minnesota

Content Area/Subject: English Language Proficiency (Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing)

Purpose: Meets ESSA federal accountability requirement for measuring English language acquisition for English Learners (ELs)

Participants: All students identified as ELs in Grades K-12

Mode of Administration: Online, requires keyboard and headset with microphone

Test Length: listening up to 40 minutes, speaking up to 30 minutes, reading up to 35 minutes, writing up to 65 minutes.

Accessing Your Child's ACCESS Results:

• Individual Student Reports (ISR): Each year, MDE sends paper Individual Student Reports (ISR) to the school district. Once received in the district, ISRs will be shared with you by the EL teacher for your child's school.
• Campus Parent Portal Access: Parents can also view their child’s final ACCESS test scores in Campus Parent Portal. .  

Additional Resources

FastBridge

FastBridge is a suite of assessment tools designed to make assessment efficient and instructionally relevant. Lakeville Area Schools utilize screening data from multiple assessments within the FastBridge system to accurately identify and group students by risk, identify instructional need, suggest interventions, and provide next steps and progress monitoring guidance, including which measure to use, how often and what goals to set.

Required by: Lakeville Area Schools

Content Area/Subject: Reading, Math, Social-emotional skills.

Purpose: FastBridge tests are used in Lakeville Area Schools as one of the measures to determine the rate of a student’s progress toward grade level outcomes. It informs instruction, measures student growth, provides information on the effectiveness of an intervention, and to modify the intervention tools if necessary. 

Accessing you child's FastBridge test results: Following each FastBridge testing window, parents/guardians can access their child's test results in Infinite Campus Parent Portal.

• Directions on how to view and interpret  scores through Infinite Campus Parent Portal.
• Directions on how to view and interpret  scores through Infinite Campus Parent Portal.
• Directions on how to view and interpret scores through Infinite Campus Parent Portal.
• Directions on how to view and interpret  scores through Infinite Campus Parent Portal.
• Directions on how to view and interpret  scores through Infinite Campus Parent Portal.

Additional information: 

CogAT

The CogAT Full Battery includes three domains: Verbal, Quantitative and Non-verbal reasoning. Results from the CogAT Full Battery test are used with other achievement measures (such as aReading & aMath) to inform decisions about placement in advanced coursework. The CogAT Full Battery test provides an overall composite score of general reasoning abilities and a score for each of the three domain areas.

Required by: Lakeville Area Schools

Purpose: To measure a child's academic aptitude and cognitive development. It is also used to help identify gifted children for admissions into gifted and talented programs.

Participants: All students grade 2 & 4

Mode of Administration: online 

Test Length: 1.5 - 2.0 hours

Accessing your child's CogAT test results: Following the testing window, parents/guardians can access their child's test results in Infinite Campus Parent Portal.

Additional information: 

Bilingual Seals

Minnesota Bilingual and Multilingual Seals were legislated in the Learning English for Academic Proficiency and Success (LEAPS) Act in 2014. Minnesota public school districts, charter schools, and nonpublic schools may award Minnesota bilingual and multilingual seals to high school students upon graduation who have demonstrated the required levels of language proficiency through assessment in languages other than English, including American Sign Language (ASL) and Indigenous American Indian languages. The required proficiency levels are ACTFL Advanced Low for a Platinum Seal; ACTFL Intermediate High for a Gold Seal in all of the four modalities — listening, reading, speaking and writing. 

 More information about Bilingual Seals Testing tests can be found on the Bilingual and Multilingual Seals and Certificates page.

Required by: State of Minnesota

Content Area/Subject: Reading. Math, Science

Purpose: To measure language proficiency in languages other than English. 

Participants: all students in Grades 11 and 12 who speak, understand, read, write in a language other than English.

Mode of Administration: online

Test Length: Untimed, average test duration is around 2.5 - 4.0 hours

Accessing Your Child's Results:

• Individual results will be to students though email. If scores meet the criteria for a certificate or a seal, upon completion of their senior year students transcripts will be noted with the award. 

ACT

According to current Minnesota State Statutes, all high school students are encouraged to participate in a nationally normed college entrance exam. School districts must provide high school students in grades 11 or 12 the opportunity to take a nationally recognized college entrance exam before graduating. In Lakeville Area Schools, we offer the ACT exam to all students in grade 11 in the early spring.

Required by: State of Minnesota (districts choose which assessment to use)

Content Area/Subject: English, Math, Reading, Science

Purpose: Meets Minnesota State Graduation Assessment Requirement. According to current state statute, all Minnesota public school districts must offer all students in grades 11 and 12 the opportunity to take a College Entrance Exam at school during the school day.

Participants: All students in Grade 11. Also any new students in Grade 12, who have not already taken the ACT.

Mode of Administration: Paper

Test Length: 4.0 Hours

Accessing your child's ACT Results:

• ACT results are mailed from ACT directly to the address the student provides on the ACT test answer document.
• Parents can also view their child’s ACT test scores in the Parent Portal of Infinite Campus.  

MyACT Resources:

• (video)

Advanced Placement 

Required by: Optional

Content Area/Subject: Varies by course

Purpose: Part of the Advanced Placement (AP) program. Allows students to build college skills and earn college credits while in high school.

Participants: Optional for all students in grades 9-12. Typically students, who are taking AP courses, take the corresponding AP test.

Mode of Administration: Varies by course

Test Length: Varies by course

Accessing your child's AP Results: Students can access their AP test scores though their individual College Board accounts.

Cheryl Gengler

Data and Assessment Coordinator

952-232-2087

Cheryl.Gengler@isd194.org

Brigitte Glenn

Program Evaluation Assistant

952-232-2021

Brigitte.Glenn@isd194.org