Editorial: MCA results are pieces of a puzzle

Talk about it

The Minnesota Department of Education released results of its annual Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment test last week, which means it’s time once again for school districts to pore over pages of numbers to figure out how they stack up. They’ll measure themselves against other districts, against state averages and against their own past performance and try to figure out just what it all means.

That’s a tricky question to answer. MCA results are a key component in determining whether a district is making adequate progress toward national No Child Left Behind goals. Failure to do well can result in some serious sanctions. So there’s no question the test is important.

At the same time, the MCA is one test given at one point in the year. It’s a high-stakes proposition.

Comparing one year’s performance to another is difficult, because this year’s seventh graders, for example, are entirely different than last year’s. They are a different group taking the test in different circumstances.

Comparisons against results statewide aren’t much better. On average, Rosemount students did better than their peers statewide. That is good news, but Rosemount parents should expect that. Independent School District 196 has its challenges, no doubt, but none that don’t exist elsewhere, and often in more significant form.

For a district like Rosemount, “better than average” should be the baseline, never the target.

Rosemount students performed well on the MCA exam. At Rosemount Middle School, sixth graders passed the MCA math test at a rate 10 percentage points better than last year. That is an impressive improvement, and it should cause other schools to look at what RMS did right.

It is up to the Rosemount School District and others around the state now to figure out exactly what these results mean for their students. To find areas where students have fallen short and work to improve performance.

Tags: opinion, editorial, rosemount, education