State assessment update

State assessment update - By Assessment Coordinator Maria Garcia
Walla Walla students in grades 3-5, and grade 10 have been busy for the last few weeks taking the new Smarter Balanced assessments in English Language Arts and Math. Students in grades 6-8 and 11 will soon begin as well. Each school and grade level has their own testing schedule, and school leaders and the district technology department have worked closely to optimize the use of available technology. Overall, the district is about halfway completed.

As parents, you can have confidence that even though the standards and the test are new, your child's teachers have done everything in their power to make this testing experience as positive as possible. Although the tests are much more rigorous than what students have previously experienced, we are very proud of the way our students have engaged with the tests so far. Walla Walla kids and teachers are truly something special!

Rapid return of results is one of the benefits of our new system, and you can expect to have information about how your child performed before the end of the school year. Remember: With anything new, it takes time to learn and adjust, and we can expect overall rates of 'meeting standard' to be somewhat lower than we are used to. We will be considering results from this first year as our starting point, and know that learning will take place and students will improve from year to year. Keep a look out for additional information as it becomes available later this spring.