MTAS Manuals & DirectionsAccountability Programs : Minnesota Department of Education

MTAS Manuals & Directions

MTAS Manuals & Directions

The Assessment division provides manuals and directions to District Assessment Coordinators and Special Education teachers for administering the Minnesota Test of Academic Skills (MTAS) in reading, mathematics and science.
2008 Minnesota Test of Academic Skills (MTAS) Check-in Checklist Memo  10Kb (3/3/08)
     Check-in procedures for the spring 2008 Minnesota Test of Academic Skills (MTAS) materials.
2008 Minnesota Test of Academic Skills (MTAS) Collection and Return Memo  43Kb (3/4/08)
     Collection and return procedures for the spring 2008 MTAS materials.
2008 MTAS District and School Assessment Coordinator Manual  3Mb (2/29/08)
     The manual for the spring 2008 administration of the Minnesota Test of Academic Skills (MTAS).
2008 MTAS Important Dates Information Sheet  5Kb (2/29/08)
     This document highlights the important dates for the spring 2008 Minnesota Test of Academic Skills (MTAS) administration.
2008 User’s Guide for MN Online Assessments in SchoolSuccess  4Mb (2/29/08)
     This manual, for test administrators and District and School Assessment Coordinators, includes information on the use of the MN Online Assessments system in SchoolSuccess.
Data Collection Form for the Minnesota Test of Academic Skills (MTAS)  23Kb (2/29/08)
     This form is available for recording the student performance on the MTAS before the data is entered into SchoolSuccess. If a district employee other than the test administrator is entering the data into SchoolSuccess, the Data Collection Form can also be used to document the test administrator training and student eligibility.
Learner Characteristics Inventory (LCI)  50Kb (9/8/08)
     This form is for recording Learner Characteristics Inventory data before it is entered into SchoolSuccess.
Managing Secure Materials for the Minnesota Test of Academic Skills (MTAS)  95Kb (2/29/08)
     This document outlines security procedures for the tasks, passages and resource materials that have been designed specifically for the MTAS.
Scoring Rubric  57Kb (2/29/08)
     Test administrators will use this scoring rubric to evaluate each of the performance tasks in reading, mathematics and science for the MTAS.

Test Administration Training


  • MDE requires all MTAS test administrators to be trained prior to each test administration. The following training materials are from the 2007-2008 training. Updated training for 2008-2009 will be posted when available but the previous year’s materials are available as a reference.

    If test administrators cannot attend an MDE regional training session, they can receive training by one of the following methods:

    1. Attend a session presented by a test administrator who has attended an MDE training and returned to their district to train others.  Download the Train-the-Trainer version, which includes the slides and video clips from the training.  Also download the PowerPoint file to view training notes and to print handouts. 

    2. Download and view the Online Training version. This file is narrated and contains the video clips from the training. When viewing, it may be helpful to have copies of the grade 8 reading, grade 10 reading, grade 8 math and high school science sample items, which can be found on the MTAS Item Samplers page.

    To access either the Online Training or Train-the-Trainer versions, please read the “Instructions for Viewing a Zipped File” document on this page.

Instructions for Viewing a Zipped File PDF Version 56Kb (3/11/08)
    
Online Training version (Mac) Native Version 34Mb (3/14/08)
    
Online Training version (Windows) Native Version 31Mb (3/14/08)
    
PowerPoint for Handouts (no video clips) PDF Version 935Kb (3/7/08) Native Version 3Mb (3/7/08)
    
Train-the-Trainer version (Mac) Native Version 29Mb (3/6/08)
    
Train-the-Trainer version (Windows) Native Version 26Mb (3/10/08)