WA students are scoring higher on state assessments. Is Thurston County following?
New data indicates that K-12 students in Washington state are accelerating their recovery in math tests scores, but Thurston County’s two largest school districts are falling a little behind.
Earlier this month, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) released data on spring 2023 state assessments. The assessments, which students take each spring for grades 3-8 and 10, are meant to measure student learning levels compared to students in the same grade level the previous year. They provide one metric for gauging whether students are on track for college-level learning.
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in fall 2021, student performance on state assessments declined significantly, according to an OSPI news release, with test scores dropping by several percentage points. A similar decline was seen across the nation.
Over the past two years, Washington has been making a comeback.
The new data shows evidence of learning recovery at all grade levels — particularly in math, which saw the largest decrease during the pandemic. In 2023, the percentage of students meeting math standards statewide increased at nearly every grade level. According to OSPI, 9.5% more students met the math college readiness proficiency standard compared to the previous year.
For English language arts (ELA), 9.7% more students met the college readiness proficiency standard than in 2022. The percentage of elementary school students meeting ELA standards increased, while percentages for students at other grade levels decreased.
While performance in both math and reading declined for students in 10th grade, OSPI noted that student participation levels in that grade also decreased, likely due to more students choosing to earn a diploma through dual-credit course completion instead of assessments.
The state’s primary standardized assessment for math and ELA is the Smarter Balanced Assessment, created by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC).
In Thurston County, the smaller districts have seen a similar trend, but the larger ones have fallen slightly behind. For 2023 math assessments, North Thurston and Olympia schools saw a decrease in the percentage of students meeting the college readiness proficiency standard from the previous year.
ELA assessments for 2023 have the same story: North Thurston and Olympia schools tested worse than in the previous year. For North Thurston, 48.7% met ELA standards in 2023, compared to 50.3% in 2022. For Olympia in 2023, the number was 58.9%, while 2022 was 59.2%.
The smaller districts, which includes Tumwater, Griffin and ESD 113, all saw increases in ELA and math assessments, with Tumwater and Griffin schools having outperformed state totals in ELA, math and science.
In spring 2023, an average of 52.6% of students across Thurston County public school districts met SBAC ELA standards, while 40.5% met SBAC math standards. By comparison, 39.1% and 50.7% of students statewide met math and ELA standards, respectively, according to data from OSPI’s Report Card.
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State tests aren’t the only indicator of academic achievement or college readiness. According to OSPI, “engagement, attendance, grades, and classroom-based assignments and tests provide more detailed, timely, and useful information about individual students’ progress to their families and educators.”
“Our students enter our school buildings each day and add new learning and skills to their toolbelt,” said State Superintendent Chris Reykdal in the news release. “Each and every student is learning year over year. Smarter Balanced Assessments are not pass/fail tests. The tests are designed to measure college readiness without needing remedial learning. To use these data to describe students or schools as ‘failing,’ as some do, is misleading and irresponsible.”
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