Dakota Times

During the 2022-23 school year, 5,027 students from 3rd grade took the reading portion of the MCA in Dakota County, according to the Minnesota Department of Education.

They scored an average of 349, with 51.6% of them considered proficient in the subject.

Data shows that Dakota County students from 5th grade had the best reading performance on the test, marking a score of 553 and a proficiency rate of 61.8%.

At the other end of the educational spectrum, 7th grade students scored in the lowest proficiency of the reading portion of the MCA, when 47.3% of them were considered proficient in the subject with an average score of 748.

The number of Dakota County students taking the reading portion of the MCA in the 2022-23 school year rose 0.5% from the previous school year.

The MCA is given annually to Minnesota students to determine the academic readiness of students. Not every grade is tested each year, and the scoring scale varies by grade level. These differing score brackets reflect the varying complexity and expectations at different educational stages.

Analysis from the the Nation's Report Card showed math and reading scores have fallen significantly in the last decade. Science scores have been steady in recent years.

Grade	Number of Students Tested	Considered proficient in Reading (%)
3	5,027	51.6%
4	5,057	51.2%
5	5,068	61.8%
6	4,840	54.2%
7	4,841	47.3%
8	4,924	47.6%
10	4,973	55.8%