First in a series

Results from the annual nationwide college-readiness tests show Bainbridge’s overall report card is stellar.

But while the tests are standardized, outcomes are not — which is why district officials usually take the results with a grain of salt.

The Smarter Balanced Assessment is administered to public school students in elementary, middle and high schools to review whether they are on track to handle college-level courses. It’s a benchmark that not only reflects student comprehension, but also records demographic data to track how students from different backgrounds are responding to instruction and teaching methods.

Last spring, when the 2023-24 test was administered, over 80% of all BI students showed college readiness in English and about three-quarters showed readiness in math and science — 30 percentage points higher than the state averages.

But some of the results carry more weight than others, said Kristen Haizlip, director of educational services and a data analyst for the district.

Students are required to pass the English and math tests to graduate from high school, but after eighth grade, science is optional. The high school test is administered in spring of 11th grade, with the assumption that students will have taken biology, chemistry, physics or other science classes by then. However, that timeframe overlaps with other standardized tests, like Advanced Placement and Scholastic Aptitude Test.

That means there are a number of students who may be performing at or above grade level, but who opt out of the science tests — but the state calculations do not account for that, Haizlip said.

“The science assessment scores are based on the number of students who actually sit for the exam, but counted against the entire population for that specific grade level. The percent passing rate is determined based on the total number of students who are expected to take the exam,” she said.

That’s why it looked like BISD’s science scores jumped a significant amount the last two years. It was just a larger sample size, Haizlip said.

Smaller districts like BI or Bremerton tend to see much greater variance in year-over-year scores than larger districts with higher enrollment. That means that what serves as a crucial tool for large districts like Seattle (enrollment 50,100) is more of a random sample in BISD (enrollment 3,500) or BSD (4,300).

“While these assessments are an important indicator of how our students are performing, it is just a snapshot in time,” Whitney Skarbeck, BISD director of teaching and learning, said at the school board meeting Dec. 12. “One data point we are constantly looking at is how our students are performing across the board, throughout the year, and making sure that we are producing well-rounded students that are entering the world and finding success in more than just academics, but across all areas.”