The Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCA) is a series of test that students take. Sophomores take the reading and science tests, while juniors take the math assessment. Future freshman will be taking the writing portion of the test.

The assessments help the district measure student progress toward Minnesota’s academic standards. These tests are just to meet federal and state requirements. Some standards that must be met while testing include understanding the reading, and one must use use the process of problem solving and reasoning. Students must also use scientific inquiry to pose questions about the natural world and scientific phenomenon. Reviews of these standards are every few years, and requirements for the assessments are changed also.

Few students know that the requirements for graduation do not include the MCA assessments, except for reading. According to the Minnesota Department of Education states that “students first enrolled in grade 8 in 2012-2013 and later are not required to achieve a specified score on an assessment in order to graduate”. That means that students  who were enrolled in eighth grade between 2012 and 2013 do not have to pass the MCA’s to graduate high school, however reading is counted. Even if we do not have to pass the MCA’s, we as students should still study, and excel in the MCA’s to prove that Eagan is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to these tests.