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Assessments and Testing

Measuring Student Achievement

Assessments help educators and families measure how well students are learning and meeting academic standards and goals.

DISTRICT ASSESSMENTS

District assessments are typically given during the school year to help teachers see progress toward College and Career Readiness Standards in subjects such as math and language arts. Teachers can use the information from these assessments to work collaboratively with their colleagues to plan lessons and provide learning support for individual students.

STATE ASSESSMENTS

State assessments are required for federal accountability and also provide a common measure of student progress at the school, district and state levels. Our educators examine the results and use them to help determine which resources and support are needed to close achievement gaps.

Washington state requires all districts to administer the Smarter Balanced Assessments (SBA) and Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science (WCAS) each spring. These tests:

  • Measure how well students are meeting College and Career Readiness Standards
  • Help teachers and districts identify which students need more support
  • Cover math, English language arts, and science
  • Take about 2.5-4 hours per subject
  • Are given to students in grades 3 to 8 and 10/11
  • Are required for federal and state accountability

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