Rep. Knudsen Responds to Declining MCA Scores under Walz Administration Saint Paul, MN — The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) has released MCA results from the 2024 assessment. The results show that less than half of students are proficient in reading, math, or science with rates of 49.9%, 45.5%, and 39.6% respectively. Especially notable is the 46.5% reading proficiency score for 3rd graders, an age that is often cited as being a key indicator for future learning and one that has dropped by nearly an entire point in just the last year. Representative Krista Knudsen (R – Lake Shore), a member of both the Education Finance and Education Policy committees responds to the new data: “Under the Walz administration, we have watched proficiency rates plummet by 16 percent in reading, 17 percent in math, and 23 percent in science. In just 5 years all three of these subject areas have dropped below the 50 percent mark.” Said Rep. Knudsen. “Governor Walz and the Democrat majorities in the House and Senate have prioritized countless mandates on our schools and educators over providing them with the tools they need to counteract the unconscionable learning loss we are seeing reflected in these scores.” “I, along with my House Republican colleagues, have pushed back on the misguided education policies that have let declining reading, math, and science proficiency continue for far too long. During the debate on this year's Education Policy bill, we pointed out how not providing these scores in a timely matter would delay proper course correction and attempted to remedy this with my A12 amendment to the bill. Democrats in the House attempted to delay the release of these scores to December 1st in another misguided attempt to hide this educational crisis instead of actually fixing it.” “Instead of costly mandates and attempting to hide information from parents we need to empower parents and teachers to adopt curriculum that will help students get back on track and succeed to their fullest potential.” |