Rep. Mueller: Disappointing MCA Results Prove Minnesota Must Refocus on Student Achievement
St. Paul, MN — The Minnesota Department of Education released the 2026 Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment results this week, showing that fewer than half of Minnesota students are meeting grade-level standards in reading and math, while just 25.5% are proficient in science.
“These results are not acceptable to our educators, our parents, our taxpayers, and certainly not to the students who expect us to prepare them for success,” said Rep. Patricia Mueller.
“Low student performance is not a failure of our schools, our teachers, and especially not our students. It is a failure of leadership at the top. When we continue adding mandates and bureaucracy to our schools instead of focusing on the fundamentals of reading and math, we are asking educators to spend more time checking boxes and less time doing what they were trained and hired to do: educate kids. Rather than excuses, we need leadership committed to high expectations and a belief that every student can succeed. We need to empower educators and parents, provide schools with resources without unnecessary micromanagement, and put students back at the center of Minnesota’s education system.”