BST General InformationAccountability Programs :

The Basic Skills Tests (BSTs) are reading, mathematics, and writing tests that students who entered grade 8 in 2004-05 or earlier must pass to receive a diploma from a public high school. The reading and mathematics tests were first administered to these students in grade 8 and the writing test in grade 10. Students can re-take any of these tests twice each year and three times in grade12.

Students entering grade 8 in 2005-06 or later do not take the BST, but will take the Graduation-Required Assessments for Diploma (GRAD) component of the MCA-II: Written Composition in grade 9, Reading in grade 10, and Mathematics in grade 11.  They must obtain a satisfactory score on each of these tests to graduate from a public school in Minnesota.  Please see the GRAD section for additional information on those tests.