The Minnesota Department of Education released spring 2026 statewide test results showing that fewer than half of students across the state reached grade-level standards in either math or reading. The agency's press release emphasized that scores "remained stable" during a "challenging year" but omitted the actual proficiency figures, according to an analysis by the American Experiment. Commissioner Willie Jett said the baseline students have established is "encouraging" and represents potential for growth.
Just 44.7 percent of students statewide reached grade-level math standards as measured by the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCAs), a small drop from the 45.0 percent who showed proficiency in spring 2025. In reading, 48.2 percent met grade-level expectations. Participation rates were high, with 93.9 percent of students taking the math MCA and 95.4 percent completing the reading assessment. Students were tested on new reading standards put in place during the 2025-2026 school year using an updated MCA reading test that MDE says can't be compared to earlier versions.
The department described reading proficiency as "stable" and said results "suggests Minnesota students and educators are rising to the occasion," the analysis notes. However, MDE acknowledged there's no comparison available for the new reading test. The agency also highlighted that the class of 2025's average composite ACT score exceeded the national average by more than a point, while leaving out that it was Minnesota's lowest average since at least 1996, when participation levels were similar. Last year's release took the same approach, omitting proficiency numbers while describing results as "stable" and "steady."
The 2026 results reflect long-standing achievement struggles Minnesota has faced for years, with proficiency stuck below 50 percent across multiple testing cycles. The report points to a pattern of annual explanations ranging from the pandemic to funding changes to Operation Metro Surge, yet questions whether the state's responses are actually working. In 2023, the Minnesota Legislature passed the Reading to Ensure Academic Development (READ) Act, which requires schools and teacher training programs to use "evidence-based" reading strategies with the goal of every child reading at or above grade level each year starting in kindergarten. MDE expects these changes will "begin demonstrating meaningful assessment trend data as early as 2027-2030, as students progress through grades led by fully trained teachers." The MCAs are designed to measure student proficiency on grade-level academic standards written by MDE, and a 2023-24 department report found a "strong positive relationship" between standardized test scores and ACT performance.
MDE now plans to review the testing system itself, saying standardized tests "provide limited instructional value," and is assembling a 28-member task force to recommend changes to the legislature by March 2027. The analysis argues that math deserves the same focus and commitment as reading, given persistent achievement gaps and troubling trends in that subject. It also calls on MDE to communicate more clearly with parents, who already receive misleading signals when report cards paint a rosier picture than test results show. The department can at least provide families with the actual numbers while there's still time to take action.