As the end of the year starts wrapping up, the MCA tests begin. Students begin to show off what they have learned from the previous school year. This Minnesota Statewide Test helps to show how the school meets state standards. The MCA tests take up to 2-3 days to complete and are scheduled during the month. These tests are in Science, Math, and English, and each of these subjects is taken at different times throughout the last few months of the school year.
Students and teachers have to figure out how they are going to move class time to make room for the MCAs, and students need to pause what they are learning in class to take these tests.
For many people, that might be a struggle, especially for kids who might be gone for the test and have to retake the test while the class is learning without them. Throughout the year, teachers will remind students that these tests are to show what they know, not to be reported in the grade book. Many students around the school at this time will hate how much extra work they have to put in for a test that does not affect them. Students talk about how annoying it is and that it is such a struggle for students. When kids work hard in school and have to try to learn something new and then try to show that they remember things from the beginning of the year and keep learning in all the other classes, it becomes overwhelming.
When asking a 10th-grade student who wishes to remain anonymous how she feels about MCA, she responds, “I think that having to pause a lesson to take a test could impact a student’s memory of the lesson they were learning.” She went on to say, “Taking the MCAs is not one of the best times of the year. When you are trying to remember things that students might not remember.” While ending the interview by asking what a strong personal opinion is, she expressed, “The MCAs put a lot more added stress on students than is needed.”
Students have to learn to cope with these tests throughout their school career. Phones and anything other than your Chromebook can not be in the classroom. Teachers have to deal with always trying to find somewhere they can put their phones or trying to follow all the rules that they are given. To some students, all these rules, when read aloud before the test, might become overwhelming. When talking with middle school teacher Jayme Miller about how much of a hassle MCAs are, Miller reveals that on test day, it goes pretty smoothly with the preparation from other teachers. She also adds “When sitting in the classroom of kids doing MCAs, it is not exactly enjoyable because you can not do any other work.”
When students are taught through school that these do not affect their grades, some do not take it as seriously. As Miller explained, “It is stressful to know that some students might not take the test as seriously and that affects how our school looks compared to other schools.” Despite the different views of MCAs, students’ views of them being annoying, and teachers’ views of how they represent our schools, they are mandatory tests throughout Minnesota.
