A comparison of HSD student performance Before & After 2020 illustrates remarkable stability, improvement
Understanding the gains in HSD student performance since 2020 involves a small math refresher, but understanding the reason behind those gains, HSD leaders believe, comes down to a concerted effort by Hockinson’s students, families, and schools.
First, the math refresh. The examination of the past 8 years’ of test results on the Smarter Balanced ELA and Math Assessments (SBA) and Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science (WCAS) involves percentiles. What’s a percentile? A percentile is a value on a scale of 1 to 100 that indicates the percent of a distribution that falls below and above it. For example, the 75th percentile represents a value that has 75% of data points below it and 25% of data points above it.
From 2016 to 2024, the HSD’s average overall statewide ranking on the SBA and WCAS was at the 83rd percentile, meaning that over that 8-year period the district performed better than 83% of Washington school districts on average. But a closer look at the numbers on Schooldigger.com reveals two distinct averages: A 75th percentile average from 2016-19 and a 91st percentile average from 2021-24. What does that mean? “It means, compared to school districts in our state, Hockinson performed better than 75% of districts before the pandemic and better than 91% of districts after,” said Josh Robertson, HSD Director of Curriculum and Instruction.
This before & after contrast leads to the question: What’s responsible for the growth? According to HSD Superintendent Steve Marshall, it’s a combination of factors. “In education, with its human variables, it’s rare that a change is due to a single factor,” said Marshall. “But whether it’s our families, school leaders, professional development program, curriculum, a greater emphasis on SBAC standards…there is obviously some kind of local ‘Hockinson’ combination at play. These scores are relative, so if we were at a certain level before 2020, statistically we should be at, or at least near, that same level after 2020. But we’re not,” said Marshall.
Both Robertson and Marshall say that they can point to a list of district initiatives that could correlate to the improvement. However, they are comfortable with attributing it to something Marshall calls the “equilateral triangle dynamic,” a model in which each of the three main players in education - students, parents/community, and educators - are all doing their part to raise the bar in terms of student learning and achievement. “While we’d like to pinpoint a particular ‘difference-maker’ we believe our momentum is in place. So we're pretty comfortable with shifting our focus to how we can continue to improve moving forward,” said Marshall.
Robertson elaborated on where the district is heading next. “For the past few years our focus has been on elementary literacy, districtwide professional development, and shoring up our curriculum. Last year, we went big on early literacy materials and training. This year, we purchased a new math curriculum that we are really excited about. Next year, we are really going to dig into formative assessments so our teacher teams can have a clear, real-time picture of where all of our kids are at and what they need,” said Robertson.
He also addressed what people may notice as a sizable difference in growth between the elementary (7%) and secondary levels (19%) since 2020. “Looking back to 2014 [the first year of SBA] our scores have been comparatively lower at Grade 3 but show a higher level of growth Grade 3 through Grade 10,” said Robertson. “So we are confident in what is going on in our classrooms. The data points to what we are already doing, which is bolstering our early literacy program. We added TK [Transitional Kindergarten] in 2021 and provided more support for our primary teachers by revamping our materials and practices,” Robertson said.
Both Robertson and Marshall expect to see growth in Grade 3 next year. If students can enter Grade 3 with stronger literacy skills, they predict a higher point of entry on the SBA and improved results thereafter. A higher level of SBA achievement, they believe, will lead to more post-secondary options for HSD graduates. “These tests are rigorous. And the learning standards they measure are aligned with 21st Century skills. Our teachers and support staff are up to task and, as they’ve shown, so are our students,” said Marshall. “I’m excited about what we’ve all done and what that means for our students' future.”
Spring 2025 SBA and WCAS results will be made available to school districts in mid- to late-August.