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Learning Standards Standards

What does a student learn in ?

Minnesota writes its own standards rather than adopting a national framework, and revises each subject on a rolling review cycle so that one area is being updated while the others hold steady. The state sets the expectations for what gets taught, then leaves the day-to-day choices about curriculum and textbooks to local districts. That split is the through-line. Statewide standards define the destination, and schools decide the route.

  • Minnesota Academic Standards
Source: Minnesota Minnesota Academic Standards
The shape of K-12
A plain-language read of how the state runs school.
What students learn
Reading and writing follow the Minnesota Academic Standards from kindergarten through high school, with a strong push on close reading of real texts and writing that backs up its claims. Math runs on Minnesota's own standards as well, moving from counting and place value in the early grades into algebra by middle school and a full high school sequence after that. Science is taught as something students investigate, with hands-on work expected at every grade. Social studies covers civics, economics, geography, and history, with a civics requirement before graduation.
How students are measured
The Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment is the spring test that matters most. Students take MCA Reading every year from third through eighth grade and again in tenth, MCA Math through eighth grade and once more in eleventh, and MCA Science in fifth, eighth, and once in high school. Students with significant cognitive disabilities take the MTAS in the same subjects and grades. NAEP samples a smaller group of fourth, eighth, and twelfth graders every other winter for national comparison.
Frameworks adopted, by subject
The standards documents the state writes against in each subject.
Subject Framework Adopted Source
English Language Arts
Minnesota Academic Standards
—View
Mathematics
Minnesota Academic Standards
—View
Science
Minnesota Academic Standards
—View
Social Studies
Minnesota Academic Standards
—View
Assessments
The tests students take across K-12, grouped by purpose.

Other

Tests that do not fit the buckets above.

State Summative

Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment: Reading

Standards-based reading assessment for grades 3 through 8 and grade 10, aligned to Minnesota Academic Standards.

When given:
spring
Frequency:
annual
Official source
State Summative

Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment: Mathematics

Standards-based mathematics assessment for grades 3 through 8 and grade 11, aligned to Minnesota Academic Standards.

When given:
spring
Frequency:
annual
Official source
State Summative

Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment: Science

Standards-based science assessment in grades 5 and 8 and once in high school, aligned to Minnesota Academic Standards.

When given:
spring
Frequency:
annual
Official source
Alternate assessment

MTAS / Alternate MCA

Alternate standards-based assessment for eligible students with the most significant cognitive disabilities, administered in the same subjects and grades as the MCA program.

When given:
spring
Frequency:
annual
Official source
National Monitoring

NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress)

Federally administered sample-based assessment in reading, mathematics, science, writing, and other subjects. NAEP results inform state-by-state comparisons rather than individual student or school accountability.

When given:
biennial in winter
Frequency:
every two years
Official source
Browse by grade and subject
Pick a cell to see exactly what students learn that year.
Subjects covered
4
Grade levels
12
Standards on file
2,233
Assessments tracked
5
Common questions
  • Does Minnesota use Common Core?

    Not for everything. Minnesota adopted the Common Core reading and writing standards in 2010 but wrote its own version, and it never adopted the Common Core math standards. Math, science, and social studies all run on Minnesota's own academic standards.

  • What is the MCA, and who takes it?

    The Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment is the spring state test. Students take reading in grades 3 through 8 and grade 10, math in grades 3 through 8 and grade 11, and science in grades 5, 8, and once in high school. Students with the most significant cognitive disabilities take the MTAS instead.

  • How often does Minnesota rewrite its standards?

    Each subject runs on its own roughly ten-year review cycle, set in state law. The Department of Education convenes a committee of teachers and content experts to revise one subject at a time, so reading, math, science, and social studies are rarely updated in the same year.

  • Is social studies actually tested?

    No. Minnesota has full academic standards for social studies, including U.S. history, world history, geography, economics, and government, but there is no statewide social studies test. Districts decide how to assess it locally.

  • What is NAEP, and does it affect a student's record?

    NAEP is a federal sample test given in grades 4, 8, and 12 every couple of years. Only some schools and some students are selected, and results are reported for the state as a whole. Individual scores do not go on a student's record.

Sources
Every page link goes back to the state's own document.

Frameworks

Assessments