As kids begin to head back to the classroom for the 2024-2025 school year, the state of Minnesota is getting a better idea of statewide testing trends and how often students are attending class.

The Minnesota Department of Education released those numbers early Thursday morning.

Across all grades and subjects, students who took the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCAs) in 2024 scored about the same percent as last school year, showing about half of Minnesota students are at, or above, grade-level standards in math and reading.

This year, state lawmakers approved millions of dollars to boost reading and teacher training, which is set to roll out next school year, according to the Minesota Department of Education.

In addition, a pilot program meant to improve absentee concerns will be rolled out at a dozen districts.

A new highlight in the data shows attendance improved among all students in 2023, which is up about 5% from 2022. It’s important to note that that percentage is out of the 90% of students who aren’t considered to be chronically absent.

While the latest attendance number is at 74.5%, that’s still down when comparing to before the pandemic, when the state attendance rate was about 85%. In 2022, the consistent attendance was at 69.8%, according to the department.

According to the department, accountability achievement results are different from assessment numbers. This is because students who didn’t take the MCA are excluded from the assessment testing percentage, and for attendance numbers, students who don’t take the MCA are counted as “not proficient” in the results.

CLICK HERE for KSTP’s coverage on results released in 2023 and HERE for results released in 2022. See results from your school or district by CLICKING HERE.

Education Commissioner Willie Jett is expected to speak at 9 a.m. regarding the data. 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS reporter Kelsey Christensen will continue to follow this story throughout the morning and will have the latest at KSTP News at Midday.