Stillwater Students Outscore State Average On Assessment Test

STILLWATER, MN — Stillwater Area Public Schools is home to some of highest achieving students in the state, according to results from the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment (MCA). As in past years, Stillwater students outperformed the state average in all grades and subjects on the annual exams.

The MCA tests measure students’ progress toward state academic standards in science, mathematics and reading as required by federal guidelines. In the spring of 2017, students in grades three through eight completed the MCA tests in reading and math, tenth graders completed reading testing and eleventh graders completed math testing, according to a news release.

Science tests were given to all students in fifth and eighth grade, as well as to high school students upon completion of a life science course, which is typically taken in tenth grade.

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Stillwater students continued to perform significantly above the state average this year.

• In reading, 70.4 percent of all Stillwater students were proficient compared to 60.1 percent at the state.
• In math, 68.9 percent of all Stillwater students were proficient while the state average was 58.6 percent.
• In science, 63.7 percent of all Stillwater students were proficient compared to 53.9 percent of students across the state.

Overall, the percent of Stillwater students who were proficient in math, reading and science dipped slightly as compared to last year. State proficiency rates in math and science also dipped slightly, whereas state proficiency rates in reading increased slightly.

The district is still outperforming the state by almost 10 percentage points in all three categories. District and school administrators will work with teachers in the coming weeks to explore the data to better understand how students are performing, according to the school district.

By analyzing the results, teachers will be able to better understand what concepts students understand and in what areas they may need to enhance their instruction, school officials said.

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