The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) released the 2007 MCA-II results Sunday indicating that students attending North Branch Area Public Schools made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) districtwide in the following areas: participation in math and reading, proficiency in math and reading, attendance and graduation. The MCA-II tests measure student proficiency in the areas of reading and math.

"We are very pleased to see that North Branch students continue to perform well in these high stakes tests," said Jan Ashlin, director of Teaching and Learning. "We do still have room for improvement and all of our staff members and students will continue to work towards proficiency in the areas of math, reading and writing to prepare for future assessments."

In comparison with state averages, North Branch scored 59.6 percent in math while the state average was 60.6 percent. "We have made considerable gains, but we have still come in below target," said Ashlin. "We will be working diligently in the coming year to overcome our test scores." In reading, the state average was 68.2 percent, while North Branch scored 71.5 percent.

This year, the Primary and Middle Schools were noted for meeting AYP. The High School did not make AYP this year due to reading proficiency in the category of free-reduced lunch students. Sunrise River School did not make AYP in the area of special education students in math and reading. The Area Learning Center did not make AYP in the area of math proficiency. It was also noted that the school district's Distance Learning program did not make AYP in the area of attendance -- this is being further investigated by the school district.

The MCA-IIs are given annually to students in reading, writing and math to allow schools and school districts to measure student progress toward state academic standards. Every public school student in 3rd through 8th grade and 10th and 11th grade was required to take the MCA-II test during the 2006-2007 school year.