MARSHALL — The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) has released the 2024-2025 statewide Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment (MCA) results, and the Marshall Public School District has seen some grades testing above the state average.

The MCA’s are yearly standardized assessments Minnesota students in select grades take that allow districts to monitor and gather data on how students are performing particularly in reading and math, and to see where improvements have to take place.

Marshall classes that performed above the state average are in fourth and fifth grade reading. A plethora of grades also tested above state proficiency in math, including fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and 11th grade.

“We were very excited to see all our results, but especially our math results,” Marshall Director of Teaching and Learning Beth Ritter said. “We have intervention (programs) both in reading and in math, and I think that focus has definitely helped our scores … We’re starting to see the (results) with all of that work and intention we’ve done.”

For reading, fourth grade tested at a 47.1% proficiency, above the state’s 46.3% average. Fifth grade reached a combined 58.6%, also above the state’s 57.1% proficiency rate.

“We’ve spent a lot of time with training our teachers in the area of literacy, and because of that, we’re now starting to see those (increased results),” Ritter said. “We’re seeing those results come out in positive ways for reading, and we expect it to continue as the cohort of kids continue to work through the system. It’ll take a few years to see those at the upper grades, but we’re starting to (see improvements).”

Marshall grades that tested below the state average in reading were third, sixth, seventh, eighth and 10th. Some grades, however, still increased from their rates a year prior.

Third grade performed at a 42.6% proficiency, which was below the state’s 46.1%, but an increase in Marshall from 40.6% in 2024.

Sixth grade tested at 50.6%, a notable increase from 41% in 2024, but below the state proficiency average of 54.1%.

Seventh-grade reading tested nearly the same last year as in 2024 with 32.6%, which was below the state’s 46.2% rate.

Marshall eighth graders saw a 1% increase this time around with a 39.5% proficiency rate, and was below the state’s 46%.

Lastly for the reading results, 10th graders tested at a 46.2% proficiency rate, which was below the state average of 51.3%.

The grades that tested below state proficiency in reading are expected to see an increase in the coming years as the READ Act continues to expand, according to district officials.

The state of Minnesota implemented the READ Act going into the 2023-24 school year, which is an initiative across Minnesota schools to get every student reading at or above grade level every year, beginning in kindergarten. The Act provides a statewide framework to educators, through separate phases, with structured literacy curriculum and training.

“(Last year) was Phase 1 (of READ Act training) … Our elementary staff, our K-12 special ed staff all participated. It was right around 100 staff members last year participated,” Ritter said at Tuesday night’s board meeting. “Part of the Read Act also is our non-certified staff that work directly with children in the areas of reading. They have a professional development series created just for them.”

The MDE is expected to release the READ Act framework later this fall for middle and high school teachers to participate in and implement next school year, which will continue to grow reading efficiency and could reflect in test scores. The middle and high school English Learner teachers will take part in it this year.

Ritter also detailed that the elementary schools have been using a phonetics curriculum the last several years students go through starting in preschool, which has by now translated to the fourth and fifth grade students that did test proficiently.

“That proves right there, that those having that strong, solid, foundational skills and getting that explicit teaching is definitely making an improvement,” Ritter said. “It’s just proving that our hard work is paying off.”

In the math assessment, five of the seven classes that tested were above the state average in proficiency, some of which by a large margin.

Last year’s fifth grade students tested at a 51.2% proficiency in math, above the state average of 42.9%.

The sixth graders also tested above the 40.1% state average at 45.3%, which also was a significant increase from Marshall’s 35.3% rate in 2024.

Seventh graders tested the same in 2025 as the previous year with 46.8% proficiency, but was still above the state’s 40.9%.

The state proficiency for the state in eighth grade math was 41.9%, and Marshall students performed well-above at a 58.4% rate.

Marshall 11th graders also did well in math, testing at a 41.6% proficiency rate, also above the state’s 35%.

“Specifically for math, all of them were significantly above the state. We were very, very excited about our math results in all of those grades,” Ritter said.

Third and fourth graders in math both tested below the state average, with third grade at 44.2% compared to the state’s 57.9%, and fourth graders at 42.3% to the state’s 55.6%.

“We are proud of the progress our students and staff have made, and we recognize that this data is a powerful tool for growth,” Marshall Superintendent Jeremy Williams said in a statement. “Our teams will continue to analyze results, adjust instructional practices, and ensure that every student receives the support they need to succeed.”