"People without information cannot act. People with information cannot help but act."
-Ken Blanchard

Roseville Area Schools are committed to continually assessing student performance to provide parents and staff the data they need to make informed instructional decisions. The Assessment and Evaluation office coordinates state and district-wide testing. We analyze the results of these tests and provide analyses to various groups. We support teachers and administrators in their use of assessment.

2012-13 Testing Schedule

District Achievement Goal

Roseville Area Schools are committed to continuous improvement. As part of this committment the district establishes 3-year goals and annual performance objectives. The current 3-year goals (2006-09) are broken into four categories: Resources, Equity, Achievement and Leadership. They are known as the REAL goals.  The achievement goal is as follows:

Roseville Area Schools will equip students to succeed in our global society by engaging, supporting, and challenging each student to make significant annual academic growth.

The 2006-07 achievement performance objectives are to:

1. Build the capacity to measure the annual academic growth of each student in reading, language arts and mathematics.
2. Analyze baseline data from 2006 MCA-II's to determine areas of relative strength and need in curriculum and instruction.
3. Study the feasibility of gathering data related to preparedness for the next level of education and/or work life post high school.

Graduation Requirements

Minnesota students are required to pass a reading, math and writing test. If they do not pass the first time, they need to retake the test until they are able to pass. Both the presence of the graduation tests and the need to pass all three in order to graduate has not changed for a number of years. However, what has changed is name of the tests and when students take the tests.

Assessments-Tests

The Graduation-Required Assessments for Diploma (GRAD) are the state tests that fulfill Minnesota's high school graduation requirement for students who entered eighth grade in 2005-06 or later. These tests measure essential skills in Writing, Reading and Mathematics for success in the 21st century. If a student does not pass the first time, retests are available.

To be eligible for a diploma from a Minnesota high school, students who entered grade 8 in 2004-05 or earlier must pass the Basic Skills Test (BST) in reading, mathematics and writing. Students who have not passed the BST by April 2012 (the last retest available) must pass the graduation assessment being taken by Minnesota students at that time.

More information about the test from the state web site.

ISD 623's testing plan follows all state and federal regulations. For more information on the tests students need to take in order to graduate, please contact ISD 623's testing office at 651-604-3742.

District Assessment Plan

It takes more than a yardstick to track your child's growth. You probably use many different kinds of measures—a bathroom scale, birthday pictures, and increasing clothing sizes. Roseville Area Schools also use different measures to chart your child's and our district's educational progress. The assessments below are those that Roseville gives district-wide. However, the assessments listed on this page do not paint the entire picture. The observations made everyday by teachers and classroom assessments are another key element to truly understanding academic strengths and weaknesses.

These assessments help the district makes decisions about areas we can improve. However, the information from these assessments is coupled with the professional advice of our talented Roseville staff and the input of our committed Roseville community before making key decisions. See below for more information.

Current Assessment Schedule

Assessment Resources

The resources below have been categorized by the specific assessment.

State Assessments

• Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment (MCA): The MCAs are used to measure whether students are achieving the Minnesota State Standards. They are also used to determine whether the schools and districts have made" adequate yearly progress" under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.


• Graduation Required Assessment for Diploma (GRAD): Students who will graduate in 2010 and thereafter are required to pass the reading, writing and mathematics GRAD tests in order to graduate. See above under Graduation Requirements for more information.


• Basic Skills Test (BST): Students who will graduate in 2009 and before are required to pass the reading, writing and mathematics BST tests in order to graduate. The state will offer the BST to students until they reach the age of 21 or until 2011-12; April 2012 will be the last administration of the BST. See above under Graduation Requirements for more information.


• Tests for English Language Learners: Students for whom English is not their first language and have not yet reached proficiency in English take the following tests.
  • Starting in the spring of 2012, tests developed by the WIDA consortium will replace the TEAE and the MN SOLOM in fulfilling the Title III requirement for assessing English language proficiency.
  • Mathematics Test for English Language Learners (MTELL) - Accommodated version of the MCA Math test.
• Minnesota Test of Academic Skills (MTAS) is a modified version of all state assessments. The Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCAs) and alternate assessments (MCA-Modified and MTAS) are the state tests that help districts measure student progress toward Minnesota's academic standards and meet the requirements of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The Minnesota Test of Academic Skills (MTAS) is Minnesota's alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards. The MTAS is part of the statewide assessment program and measures the extent to which students with significant cognitive disabilities are making progress in the general curriculum.

District Assessments

• Measures of Academic Progress (MAP): MAP is a nationally normed test in reading, mathematics and language usage. It is administered at least twice a year to students in grades two through eight. It is a computerized test. The test increases in difficulty when the students answer questions correctly and decreases in difficulty when students answer questions incorrectly. It is one piece of information used to understand academic progress at the student and district level. For a more information:
  • Parent Letter
  • National MAP Score (RIT) Averages
  • Parent Toolkit
  • NWEA/MAP Report Web site
• Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT): CogAT is designed to be a measureof the student's reasoning abilities. The test is made up of three subtests: verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal (spatial). For a more information:
  • Detailed Description of Test
  • CogAT Profile Interpretation Web site

If you have any questions not answered here, feel free to contact us through the information listed on the left of this page.

Carole Dillemuth
Testing Coordinator
651-604-3742

E-mail