Washington students' test scores drop significantly

SEATTLE (AP) — Washington students took their first state exams since the pandemic began last fall and their scored dropped.

The Seattle Times reports that between 2019 and 2021, the overall percentage of students who met state standards on the math portion of the exam fell by 20 percentage points.

Just 30% of children — public school students enrolled in grades 4 through 11 — met standards in math. In English, the portion of kids who met the standard fell by 9 percentage points.

“The pandemic affected students overall. The assessment scores reinforce that,” said Deb Came, assistant superintendent of assessment and student information at the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.

State education officials cautioned against putting much stock in the numbers. But some outside observers said the scores could show where to direct resources, especially at a time when the federal government has deployed billions of dollars to help schools improve students’ academics during the pandemic.

“Test scores don’t tell us everything, but they tell us something,” said Marguerite Roza, a Seattle-based education finance professor at Georgetown University.

Because of a waiver of some federal testing requirements, students took the assessment — which was shorter compared to prior years — in the fall, instead of the spring.

They tested on the material they learned last year, meaning fourth graders took the test they normally would have taken as third graders. The participation rates were also lower compared to prior years, especially among kids in high school. Overall, around 91% of students participated who were eligible, compared to 97% during the 2018-2019 school year.

“We’re not gonna spend a lot of energy here because there’s too many factors that are unique,” said state...