The Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards define expectations for the educational achievement of public school students across the state in grades K-12. The standards and benchmarks are important because they: 1) identify the knowledge and skills that all students must achieve by the end of a grade level or grade band; 2) help define the course credit requirements for graduation; and, 3) serve as a guide for the local adoption and design of curricula. Student mastery of the standards is measured through state and local assessments.

State standards are in place for English language arts, mathematics, science, social studies and physical education. State standards also are available in the arts, or districts may choose to develop their own. Local standards must be developed by districts for health, world languages, and career and technical education.

Read Frequently Asked Questions About Minnesota's K-12 Academic Standards below for more information including how Minnesota’s standards are developed, how student achievement of the standards is measured, and the relationship of the standards to the Common Core.

Minnesota and the Common Core State Standards
In 2010, Minnesota adopted the Common Core English language arts standards in their entirety and added some supplementary content. Public schools in Minnesota are required to implement the 2010 Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards in English Language Arts no later than the 2012-2013 school year.

Minnesota has not adopted the Common Core mathematics standards. The academic standards are revised according to a timetable specified in state statute (Minn. Stat. § 120B.021, Subd. 4). The 2007 Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards in Mathematics were revised prior to the development of the Common Core mathematics standards. Though the math standards were scheduled to be reviewed again during the 2015-16 school year, the review has been postponed. As passed in the spring 2015 first special legislative session, according to Chapter 3, H.F. 1, the math standards review has been postponed until 2020-21.

Minnesota Kindergarten Academic Standards
The Minnesota Kindergarten Academic Standards contain all of the state academic standards for kindergarten in the following content areas: Arts (2008), English Language Arts (2010), Mathematics (2007), Science (2009) and Social Studies (2011). A short overview is provided in each content area as well as information about how the standards are organized. The standards in this document are a reference to the official versions of the Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards.

Kindergarten students must also complete physical education standards. Learn more about the physical education standards.

Early Learning Standards
A large and growing body of research supports the critical relationship between early childhood experiences and successful learning outcomes. Early learning standards express shared expectations for young children's learning and provide a common language for measuring progress. Learn more about Early Learning.

English Learner Standards
The Minnesota Department of Education joined the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) Consortium in 2011. Minnesota’s standards for English language development are the current standards developed by the WIDA Consortium. The WIDA ACCESS for ELLs® test will be administered to students who qualify for English learner services. The standards are grounded in scientifically based research and best practices in English as a Second Language (ESL) and bilingual education.

Source: education.state.mn.us