BY CARTER AAKHUS

MCA testing began for sophomores and juniors last Thursday. Sophomores took the reading MCA, while juniors took the math test. Freshmen and seniors got a 2 and a half hour late start day. The tests were at the beginning of the day, starting at 7:50. First hour classes began at 10:20.

Reading and math tests are administered in grades 3-8 with both each year, reading in grade 10 and math in grade 11. The science MCA is administered to students in grades 5 and 8 and the year that students take Biology in high school. With just a few exceptions, every school in Minnesota is required to give out MCA tests.

The MCA tests have been around since the 1999-2000 school year to fulfill the requirements of state law. Schools use the information from the test results in order to improve classroom teaching and learning.

Teachers look for areas that students perform well in so that they know that the ways that these are taught are working for students. They also look for areas that need improvement so that they can change their teaching methods or extend time that they spend teaching it.