Assessments

Spring is the time of year when our schools administer state required assessments. These assessments are used for state and federal accountability, to monitor student progress toward grade level standards, as well as an option for high school students to meet their Graduation Pathways requirement. The English/Language Arts (ELA) and Math Smarter Balanced Assessments are administered in grades 3 through 8 and 10, while the Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science (WCAS) is administered in grades 5, 8, and 11.

Make sure your student brings a fully charged Chromebook to school every day they are testing.

If you have any questions about your student’s spring assessments or schedules, please feel free to contact their teacher or the testing coordinator, Amy Smith, asmith@nsd.org.

2024 Testing Schedule TBD

Smarter Balanced Testing

Smarter Balanced Testing

The Smarter Balanced assessment system provides educators, students and parents meaningful results with actionable data to help students succeed. The assessment is aligned to Common Core State Standards and consists of three major components, all designed to improve teaching and learning.

The Smarter Balanced Summative assessments are required. They will take place during the last 12 weeks of the school year. These computer-based tests will help schools evaluate how well their students performed by comparing them with students from other schools across the nation. The end-of-year assessments also will empower families by providing them with a clear indication of how well their children are progressing toward mastering the academic knowledge and skills necessary for college and career readiness.

Smarter Balanced assessments replaced the math, reading and writing portions of the MSP students in grades 3-8. The science portion of the MSP (tested in grades 5 and 8) remained the same. 11th graders will take the high school level of the new Smarter Balanced tests, but meeting standard on the tests is not a graduation requirement until the Class of 2019. Students will not take the new Smarter Balanced tests in grades K-2, 9, or 12. 10th graders will only take the English Language Arts Smarter Balanced test.

Learn more by visiting the Smarter Balanced website.