Assessments
QSD Assessment Overview
Each year, students take state and district assessments to measure how well they are learning important skills, including what students know and can do in reading, writing, math, and science—based on Washington State Learning Standards.
This table provides a summary of required state and district assessments. It includes the subject, purpose, source of requirement, and estimated testing time for each assessment, in accordance with Parents’ Right to Know federal requirements.
|
Grade(s) |
Assessment Name |
Subject(s) |
Purpose |
Required By |
Estimated Testing Time |
|
K, TK |
Washington Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills (WaKIDS) |
Whole-child development |
Understand early learning and readiness (observational over time) |
State |
Untimed: Up to 12 weeks (embedded observation) |
|
K–12 (ML students) |
WIDA Screener / ACCESS / Alternate ACCESS |
English Language Proficiency |
Identify & monitor English language development |
Federal |
ACCESS: up to 2.5 hours |
|
2nd Grade Only |
Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) |
Verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal |
Highly Capable Screener |
State |
Up to 3 hours |
|
4-12 |
Panorama |
Survey |
Safety & Belonging Screener |
District |
Untimed: Up to 30 minutes |
|
K–10 |
STAR Renaissance |
Reading & Math |
Universal screening, progress monitoring, instructional planning |
District |
Untimed: Up to 30 minutes per subject |
|
3-8, 10 |
Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA) |
ELA & Math |
Graduation Pathway Option |
State & Federal |
Untimed: ELA: Up to 4h00m |
|
11–12 (optional retest) |
SBA Retake |
ELA & Math |
Re-attempt to meet graduation pathway |
State |
Untimed: ELA: Up to 4h00m |
|
5, 8, 11 |
Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science (WCAS) |
Science |
Measure science learning standards |
State & Federal |
Untimed: Up to 120 minutes |
|
3–8, 10, 11 (IEP) |
Washington Access to Instruction & Measurement (WA-AIM) |
ELA, Math, Science |
Alternate assessment for students with cognitive disabilities |
State & Federal |
Untimed: Varies (IEP-driven performance tasks) |
QSD Assessments by Grade Level
|
|
State Required |
District Required |
|
|
Transition to Kindergarten (TK) |
|
WaKIDS
|
|
|
Kindergarten |
ELA |
-WaKIDS (Fall) -Dyslexia Screener (Winter) |
-Kindergarten Quarterly Measures -STAR Early Literacy (Fall, Winter, Spring) - Integrated ELA Unit Performance Tasks |
|
Math |
WaKIDS |
-Kindergarten Quarterly Measures -Bridges Unit Assessments
|
|
|
Multilingual Learners Only |
WIDA |
|
|
|
1st grade |
ELA |
-Dyslexia Screener (Fall) |
-STAR Early Literacy (Fall, Winter, Spring) - Integrated ELA Unit Performance Tasks |
|
Math |
|
-STAR Math (Fall, Winter, Spring) -Bridges Unit Assessments
|
|
|
Multilingual Learners Only |
WIDA |
|
|
|
2nd grade |
ELA |
-Dyslexia Screener (Fall) |
-STAR Reading (Fall, Winter, Spring) - Integrated ELA Unit Performance Tasks |
|
Math |
|
-STAR Math (Fall, Winter, Spring) -Bridges Unit Assessments |
|
|
Highly Capable Screener |
|
CogAT (October) |
|
|
Multilingual Learners Only |
WIDA |
|
|
|
3rd grade |
ELA |
Smarter Balanced Assessment* (Spring)
|
-STAR Reading (Fall, Winter, Spring) - Integrated ELA Unit Performance Tasks |
|
Math |
Smarter Balanced Assessment* (Spring)
|
-STAR Math (Fall, Winter, Spring) -Bridges Unit Assessments |
|
|
Multilingual Learners Only |
WIDA |
|
|
|
4th grade |
ELA |
Smarter Balanced Assessment* (Spring) |
-STAR Reading (Fall, Winter, Spring) - Integrated ELA Unit Performance Tasks
|
|
Math |
Smarter Balanced Assessment* (Spring)
|
-STAR Math (Fall, Winter, Spring) -Bridges Unit Assessments |
|
|
Safety & Belonging |
|
Panorama Student Survey |
|
|
Multilingual Learners Only |
WIDA |
|
|
|
5th grade |
ELA |
Smarter Balanced Assessment* (Spring)
|
-STAR Reading (Fall, Winter, Spring) - Integrated ELA Unit Performance Tasks |
|
Math |
Smarter Balanced Assessment* (Spring)
|
-STAR Math (Fall, Winter, Spring) -Bridges Unit Assessments |
|
|
Science |
Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science (Spring) |
|
|
|
Safety & Belonging |
|
Panorama Student Survey |
|
|
Multilingual Learners Only |
WIDA |
|
|
|
6th grade |
ELA |
Smarter Balanced Assessment* (Spring)
|
STAR Reading (Fall, Winter, Spring)
|
|
Math |
Smarter Balanced Assessment* (Spring)
|
-STAR Math (Fall, Winter, Spring) -i-Ready Math |
|
|
Safety & Belonging |
|
Panorama Student Survey |
|
|
Multilingual Learners Only |
WIDA |
|
|
|
7th grade |
ELA |
Smarter Balanced Assessment* (Spring) |
STAR Reading (Fall, Winter, Spring)
|
|
Math |
Smarter Balanced Assessment* (Spring) |
-STAR Math (Fall, Winter, Spring) -i-Ready Math |
|
|
Safety & Belonging |
|
Panorama Student Survey |
|
|
Multilingual Learners Only |
WIDA |
|
|
|
8th grade |
ELA |
Smarter Balanced Assessment* (Spring) |
STAR Reading (Fall, Winter, Spring) |
|
Math |
Smarter Balanced Assessment* (Spring) |
-STAR Math (Fall, Winter, Spring) -i-Ready Math |
|
|
Science |
Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science |
|
|
|
Safety & Belonging |
|
Panorama Student Survey |
|
|
Multilingual Learners Only |
WIDA |
|
|
|
9th grade |
ELA |
|
STAR Reading (Fall, Winter, Spring) |
|
Math |
|
STAR Math (Fall, Winter, Spring) |
|
|
Safety & Belonging |
|
Panorama Student Survey |
|
|
Multilingual Learners Only |
WIDA |
|
|
|
10th grade |
ELA |
Smarter Balanced Assessment (Spring) |
STAR Reading (Fall, Winter, Spring) |
|
Math |
Smarter Balanced Assessment (Spring) |
STAR Math (Fall, Winter, Spring) |
|
|
Safety & Belonging |
|
Panorama Student Survey |
|
|
Multilingual Learners Only |
WIDA |
|
|
|
11th Grade |
Safety & Belonging |
|
Panorama Student Survey |
|
Multilingual Learners Only |
WIDA |
|
|
|
12th grade |
Safety & Belonging |
|
Panorama Student Survey |
|
Multilingual Learners Only |
WIDA |
|
|
*The Washington Access to Instruction & Measurement (WA-AIM) is an alternative assessment to the Smarter Balanced Assessment for students with significant cognitive disabilities.