Tri-City state test scores aren’t budging. Some say they need ‘major movement’
.png "State Superintendent Chris Reykdal speaks to reporters on Sept. 10, 2025.")
The share of Tri-City students showing grade-level knowledge remained mostly level in this week’s release of the spring 2025 Smarter Balanced Assessment results, while slightly more students showed improvement in statewide data.
The needle didn’t budge much. About two-thirds of tested Tri-City students showed grade-level comprehension or higher in English language. On math, more than half tested at grade level or above.
While scores saw a small bump in the wake of COVID thanks to targeted interventions and robust summer school programs, the latest set paints a potentially daunting picture: The fraction of students who struggled the most during remote learning could be at risk of falling permanently behind.
What SBA can and cannot tell us
The SBA measures the grade-level proficiency of students who take it from the 3rd grade to 8th grade, as well as in the 10th grade. The science test, the Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science, is taken in the 5th, 8th and 11th grades.
Students cannot pass or fail, and the test is not required for high school students to graduate.
State officials warn families, policymakers and community members about using the state test score data as a “primary indicator” of student learning and growth. It’s one data point that represents the results of a single test taken at one point in time.
Educators also use several other variables to help paint a more nuanced portrait of a student’s progress and challenges. Another issue with SBA is that it is only given in English.
While Washington Superintendent Chris Reykdal acknowledged this week that raw scores are not back to pre-pandemic levels, he says the silver lining in this year’s data is that the year-over-year rate of student learning growth among elementary and 6th grade students is actually higher.
“This indicates to us that learning recovery is not only continuing, it’s actually happening quickly,” said Katy Payne, OSPI’s chief communications officer. “There is no evidence that students are ‘just being graduated’ without meeting the necessary requirements and demonstrating their readiness for their post-graduation goals.”
Washington isn’t alone in experiencing impacts to student learning from the pandemic. Each state experienced declines in achievement, and global achievement has trended downward since the pandemic.
Tri-City area test results
In response to lackluster scores, Kennewick School Board President Gabe Galbraith and others at a Wednesday meeting urged their district staff to leave “no stone left unturned.”
He said they need to continue to identify which programs or classrooms have the largest gaps and focus on improving essential instruction in those spaces.
“I’m excited to see some of those practices and outside-of-the-box solutions and thinking and things that we’re going to do to really right the ship. Because we’ve all been here long enough, we’ve seen the numbers, now we need some major movement,” Galbraith said, referencing the district’s new leadership.
Here’s how many students in each district showed grade-level knowledge or higher, and how they compare to 2024 spring results:
- Washington state: 71% in English (level), 63% in math (level), 63% in science (+1).
- Kennewick: 69% in English (level), 59% in math (level), 57% in science (+1).
- Pasco: 56% in English (level), 47% in math (+2), 53% in science (-1).
- Richland: 72% in English (level), 64% in math (+1), 54% in science (+3).
- Kiona-Benton City: 53% in English (+5), 38% in math (-1), 48% in science (+5).
- Prosser: 59% in English (-2), 55% in math (+3), 58% in science (+2).
- Finley: 51% in English (-5), 34% in math (-2), 59% in science (+13).
- North Franklin: 61% in English (+1), 49% in math (-1), 55% in science (+8).
- Columbia-Burbank: 61% in English (-2), 56% in math (-1), 56% in science (+5).
Here’s how many students in each district were on track for college-level learning without remedial intervention. This includes students who demonstrate advanced, broad knowledge and skills with a deep understanding of the subject matter:
- Washington state: 51% in English, 41% in math, 43% in science.
- Kennewick: 47% in English, 35% in math, 37% in science.
- Pasco: 33% in English, 23% in math, 28% in science.
- Richland: 53% in English, 42% in math, 40% in science.
- Kiona-Benton City: 22% in English, 13% in math, 24% in science.
- Prosser: 35% in English, 31% in math, 32% in science.
- Finley: 24% in English, 11% in math, 25% in science.
- North Franklin: 35% in English, 25% in math, 31% in science.
- Columbia-Burbank: 32% in English, 26% in math, 38% in science.
Math must be key focus
Reykdal at a Wednesday news conference said “math has got to be a key focus” for the state’s public schools, but that Washington students continue to perform on par with or better than their peers across the nation.
“Among the 11 other states using the same state test vendor as we do, our students have the second-highest performance in (English) and the fourth-highest performance in math. At the same time, we have gaps to close,” he said in a statement.
While only four or five states outperformed the Evergreen State in 4th grade math and reading, as well as 8th grade reading, about 14 states outperformed Washington’s 8th grade math scores, Reykdal cites from the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress.
Spring SBA scores show that across the state one-third of students tested below grade-level knowledge in mathematics.
Last year, as spring 2024 results were rolling out, OSPI lauded state level data for a “strong recovery in math,” and highlighted the need for a “continued focus on literacy.” Now that focus has flipped.
Substantial gaps in English and math scores also remain between low-income pupils and their non-impoverished peers. Achievement gaps also continue to exist for students of color in English.
“Measuring student learning is complex,” Reykdal said. “Students, families and educators know that a student’s knowledge and achievement can’t be described by just one measure. That’s why we also consider evidence-based measures like student attendance, course-taking and GPA, among others.”
This story was originally published September 12, 2025 at 11:18 AM.
