St. Cloud Sun

During the 2022-23 school year, 585 students from 5th grade took the reading portion of the MCA in Benton County, according to the Minnesota Department of Education.

They scored an average of 549, with 50.6% of them considered proficient in the subject.

Data shows that Benton County students from 6th grade had the best reading performance on the test, marking a score of 649 and a proficiency rate of 50.9%.

At the other end of the educational spectrum, 3rd grade students scored in the lowest proficiency of the reading portion of the MCA, when 43.5% of them were considered proficient in the subject with an average score of 343.

The number of Benton County students taking the reading portion of the MCA in the 2022-23 school year fell 2.8% 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	594	43.5%
4	608	45.9%
5	585	50.6%
6	475	50.9%
7	475	50.6%
8	473	46.6%
10	386	43.5%