State Testing/Assessment

The Office of Student Learning works collaboratively with teachers, administrators, and staff within the district to support student learning and meet the goals of the district strategic plan. This is accomplished by providing information and data to assist district personnel and the public in monitoring the effectiveness of our schools and programs.

State assessments are those which are required for federal accountability standards and include the Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA), Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science (WCAS), English Language Proficiency Assessment (ELPA). These assessments also have alternative versions for students with disabilities that make accessing the regular assessment incredibly difficult. The WAKids assessment is not an accountability assessment but is administered to kindergarteners in the fall to get a sense of readiness for kindergarten. Yelm Community Schools uses data from these assessments to analyze the effectiveness of our programs as much of the results data is not available until the end of the school year.

District assessments, commonly referred to as benchmark assessments, are given more frequently than state assessments, generally three times per year. Several of these also have progress monitoring options that allow for more frequent assessment on identified standards/skills to get a sense of how students are progressing between the typical benchmark testing windows. The data from these assessments are used to inform instructional planning and measure growth at the grade and classroom levels compared to grade level peers across the nation.

Teachers also utilize assessments that are curriculum based such as mid unit/module or end of unit/module. These assessments are tied directly to the curriculum and are incredibly useful for informing instructional practice as it is moving forward. Teachers can use these smaller scale assessments to make adjustments within a unit/module if they see students are struggling with content or skills.

Assessment Dates

Projected Testing Windows: 2023-24 YCS Assessment Calendars

State Testing: Specific dates for testing will be communicated to families through their schools

Month	Assessment/Grade
September - October	District Assessments Grades K-10
January - February	District Assessments Grades K-10 State Assessment (English/Multi-lingual Learners: WIDA) Grades K-12
April - June	State Assessment: SBA/WCAS Grades 3-8,10
May - June	District Assessments Grades K-10

District Testing

Yelm Community Schools utilizes a number of benchmark assessments in the area of literacy, math and social emotional learning. These assessments help inform instruction, provide data on student growth and are valuable tools in determining how YCS students are performing compared to other students across the nation. Administration is during the fall, winter and spring. They are important for determining the health of YCS instructional programs.

Literacy

DIBELS: This is an assessment given to K-5 students that focuses primary on the decoding aspect of reading. It is made up of a variety of subtests and is administered one-on-one with a teacher.
aRead: This is an assessment given to grades 2-10 that focuses primarily on the comprehension aspect of reading. It is a computer-based adaptive test that adjusts in response to how students answer each question.

Mathematics

EarlyMath: This is assessment given to students in grades K and 1st. It measures mastery of skills based on early grade standards. It consists of a variety of subtests and is administered one-on-one with a teacher.
aMath: This is an assessment given to grades 2-10 that focuses on math standards. It is a computer-based adaptive test that adjusts in response to how students answer each question.

Social Emotional

SAEBRS: This is a survey given to grades 2-12 that asks basic questions related to social, academic and emotional behavior characteristics using a four point scale for student responses. The administration is computer based.
DESSA: The Deveraux Students Strengths Assessment(DESSA) is a teacher-completed rating survey that pinpoints each child's specific strengths and opportunities for growth. The survey provides information about eight key social and emotional competencies that are aligned to the CASEL framework.
Belonging Survey: The Belonging Survey is a student completed survey done twice a year. The purpose of the survey is to determine whether or not students feel a sense of belonging in their school. YCS is striving to create learning environments where students feel like they belong and are safe. The results of this survey inform the impact of efforts at each school to create just such an environment.

State Testing

Each year, WA State requires that school district administer assessments covering English-Language Arts, math, science as well as English language proficiency for our students who don’t speak English as a first language. The results from these assessments are important components of the Washington State Improvement Framework. This framework is used to evaluate schools and districts based on Federal requirements. Below is information related to each of the assessments.

Smarter Balanced Assessments (SBA)

The SBA is made up of two subject specific assessments (English language arts and math)
Administration occurs at grades 3-8 and 10
Scores are reported in four different levels with L3 designated as “met standard”
How to understand an SBA score report
Results are available to parents in the fall of the following school year
SBA website for families for more information
SBA practice test

Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science (WCAS)

A comprehensive assessment of science standards across many domains of science
Administration occurs at grades 5, 8, and 11 only
Scores are reported in four different levels with L3 designated as “met standard”
OSPI website with more information

English Language Proficiency Assessment (WIDA)

An assessment used to determine proficiency levels in the use of English.
Administration occurs at all grade levels for students who qualify for English language services based on the home language survey.
OSPI website with more information

Need Support?

Kurt Fourre, Director of Assessments, Grants, and Student Data Management

E: Kurt_Fourre@ycs.wednet.edu
P: 360.458.6120

Logo Image

Logo Title

In This Section