Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Assessment Results topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
District presents annual assessment report: mixed results on Smarter Balanced, kindergarten readiness and graduation
Summary
District staff reviewed WA Kids kindergarten readiness, Smarter Balanced results, science scores and graduation pathways, reporting a 78.4% four-year graduation rate (preliminary) and noting various year-to-year shifts and testing incident reductions.
District staff presented the Battle Ground School District's annual assessment report at the Oct. 27 board meeting, reviewing kindergarten readiness (WA Kids), Smarter Balanced (SBA) outcomes, science results and graduation pathways.
The data highlights administrators emphasized - WA Kids kindergarten readiness: Staff reported that 62.8% of incoming kindergartners in the most recent year met the district's readiness indicator; presenters noted kindergarten readiness is predictive of later Smarter Balanced outcomes but is measured at the start of kindergarten. - Smarter Balanced (ELA/math/science): Staff provided both the state's public reporting metric (levels 2'4 considered "proficient" in the current public reporting) and the traditional level 3'4 cohort comparisons. The slide the district presented showed district-level level-2-or-above rates of roughly 71.1% in ELA, 64.4% in math and 66.4% in science (presentation numbers in packet). Staff also noted small year-to-year changes; district scores are generally within one to three percentage points of state averages. - Test incidents and invalidations: The district reported 46 test incidents and 18 invalidations for the spring 2025 state assessments, a notable drop from 137 incidents the previous year; staff suggested the decline may reflect improved test administration and a safer testing environment. - Graduation rates and pathways: The district reported a preliminary four-year graduation rate of 78.4% for 2024'5. Staff explained multiple graduation pathways (Smarter Balanced, CTE sequences, Running Start, AP, SAT/ACT/ASVAB) and said 692 students met a CTE pathway in 2024'5; staff also noted increases in AP participation and AP pass rates and that world-language testing provided credits and biliteracy seals for a number of students.
Why it matters: The assessment presentation tied results to the district strategic plan's measurable objectives and to school-improvement-plan work. Board members pressed presenters for the clearest slides to show whether the district is meeting its strategic goals and for explanations of year-to-year changes.
Selected quotes and exchanges - David, executive director of school improvement: "Smarter Balanced is no joke. It's a really hard test. It's an incredibly rigorous, high bar." David and other presenters said Washington state performs near the top of participating Smarter Balanced states, which the presenters framed as context for interpreting district performance. - Presenters told the board that some curriculum adoptions and expanded early-learning interventions have not yet produced multi-year SBA gains because cohorts who started with new curriculum have not yet reached the tested grades.
Next steps - School improvement plans (SIPs) will be submitted and reviewed beginning in December; staff added a row to SIP documents showing prior-year goals and results. - The board asked administration to keep tying assessment reporting to the strategic plan's measurable objectives and to highlight the slide elements that most directly answer whether the district is meeting those objectives.
Speakers (selected) - David (Executive Director, School Improvement) — led parts of the assessment presentation - Lacey Marcelic (District Assessment Coordinator) - Allison (presentation support)
Provenance (transcript evidence) - Topic intro: assessment presentation began with introductions around 46 minutes into the meeting record (transcript time ~2811 seconds). - Topic finish: presenters closed remarks and moved on to questions near ~4482 seconds into the recording.
Caveats and context - Several figures are reported from district slides and the transcript; the district described some data as preliminary and subject to state reconciliation. - Graduation-rate figures are preliminary; the district said it can file corrections with OSPI before state data are finalized.
Ending - The board thanked staff for the data and asked for continued refinement of SIP reporting and links to strategic-plan metrics.
