Second in a series

State testing data is often cited when demonstrating racial inequities in schools, but at the Bainbridge Island School District, the numbers are only half the story.

On Jan. 4, the Review reported that about 80% of all BISD students demonstrated a strong grasp of academics, nearly 30 points above the state average and steady improvement since the COVID pandemic.

District officials Kristen Haizlip, executive director of educational services, and Whitney Skarbek, director of teaching and learning, explained that while the data may appear rosy, it’s just a snapshot of how students are performing. That is doubly true for testing data that break from the overarching pattern, they added, which is why BISD looks at the results on a case-by-case basis.

The results of the 2023-2024 Smarter Balanced Test, a statewide benchmark, shows some disparity in English and math proficiency for different racial demographics at BISD. While some student groups are much smaller than others and subject to greater statistical variance, there’s more to the story than the numbers imply.

“We look at Smarter Balanced as one data point for a student, and in some cases, it could provide a data point that says we need to do something about our curriculum because we’re not meeting the needs of all our students,” Haizlip said.

“In other cases, it might be that we need to focus more on intentional instruction for some subgroups of students in specific areas. We look at our student data and comparison data with our administrators in the building, with principals, and then they share it with their staff and talk through trends they’re seeing or areas for growth.”

BISD has about 3,585 students, most of whom are on track for college, and nearly all of whom show skills foundational for their grade level. Achievement at BI schools also came back strong from the disruptions of the pandemic, with about 2/3 of all students showing college readiness in English and math as early as 2021-22. All racial demographics of students at BISD are outperforming the state average, some by as much as 40%.

But within the state data, results varied widely between demographics of BISD’s nonwhite students, who together make up about 25% of the student body. Last year, multiracial students were 10.6% of the population, followed by Hispanic/Latino students (8.6%), then Asian students (3.9%) and Black students (less than 1%).

The 2023-24 numbers show that Asian and multiracial students outperform their peers in math, English and the optional science test — sometimes by as much as 38% — whereas Black and Hispanic students trailed in those subjects.

While it may appear that some students of color are struggling, the data is not a perfect litmus test, Haizlip said.

She explained that because there are fewer students of color at BISD, each student’s participation has an outsize impact on state test scores. Case in point, Black students’ academic achievement at BISD hit a high-water mark in 2018-19 after steadily climbing for three years. Those students’ scores surpassed the state average by nearly double that year: about 75% showed college readiness in English and about 67% in math.

Chastity Malatesta, co-chair of the district’s Multicultural Advisory Council and a Black parent of three BISD students, agreed that the Smarter Balanced tests should not be the only way a student’s progress is assessed, in particular for students of color. Isolated data can lead to a harmful narrative that minimizes the accomplishments of students outside of their test-taking skills, she said.

“The [tests] don’t magnify the fact that this kid also got a job during that time, or they moved from house to house, or they’re couch surfing. And then you have teachers who are bending over backward, doing everything for these kids — but that doesn’t show up on the data,” Malatesta said.

“They have grown, and they have achieved what they can do based on the circumstances they’re in. Being in an environment that’s homogeneous, where you stick out, there’s the visibility on one hand, but it can be a disadvantage when we’re talking about data.”

Malatesta recalled one of her son’s struggles with standardized testing. His teachers worked with him and improved his skill set. “The work that they did to help my kid build his confidence and his ability was just phenomenal, and for our family, some of the strategies and supports that they identified. They instilled confidence and habits of mind that helped him to improve and give him access to learning.”

Recognizing a student’s differences, especially those who are in a minority demographic, is a crucial part of a holistic education, Malatesta added. The MAC’s work, which includes outreach to families of multicultural students, may help students of color feel welcome, but she said BISD does much of the legwork when it comes to curriculum and support. Right after students returned to in-person instruction, the district had extensive intervention classes to make up for any learning deficits that students had.

“What questions can be asked to tell the…whole story? Because if you’re asking the really good questions about that whole kid, you’re going to help other kids too. We’re going to start looking at ways to lift up everyone,” she said. “I think that is what that data can be used for, because it didn’t just help the brown kids, it helped the kids that were struggling and had attendance issues. Maybe those same questions need to be asked for every single student.”