English Language Arts
32.3%
State avg 58.4%
District avg 56.3%
County avg 51.7%
-15.4pp since 2014-15
District avg 56.3%
County avg 51.7%
-15.4pp since 2014-15
Test scores
See how it ranks: all Washington schools by score · Whatcom County schools by score
Smarter Balanced + WCAS, SY 2024-25
All grades, all students. % Met or Exceeded Standard.Mathematics
25.8%
State avg 51.2%
District avg 45.3%
County avg 41.3%
-17.6pp since 2014-15
District avg 45.3%
County avg 41.3%
-17.6pp since 2014-15
Science
44.4%
State avg 52.2%
District avg 55.4%
County avg 49.7%
District avg 55.4%
County avg 49.7%
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
31.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
41.0%
based on WA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-9.1pp
below demographic expectation
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
By grade, SY 2024-25
School score vs state average per tested grade.| Grade | English Language Arts | Mathematics | Science | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| School | State | n tested | School | State | n tested | School | State | n tested | |
| Grade 3 | 30.5% | 56.8% | 18 | 25.9% | 59.6% | 15 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Grade 4 | 35.0% | 58.1% | 21 | 30.0% | 57.8% | 18 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Grade 5 | 31.1% | 60.9% | 14 | 20.0% | 52.9% | 9 | 44.4% | 59.3% | 20 |
9-year history
All grades, all students. Birchwood Washington avgEnglish Language Arts
| Year | School | District | County | State |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SY 2024-25 | 32.3% | 56.3% | 51.7% | 58.4% |
| SY 2023-24 | 32.2% | 49.5% | 46.9% | 49.5% |
| SY 2022-23 | 31.3% | 49.3% | 47.1% | 49.0% |
| SY 2021-22 | 31.3% | 49.1% | 46.8% | 49.6% |
| SY 2018-19 | 36.5% | 58.0% | 57.5% | 57.9% |
| SY 2017-18 | 39.9% | 56.2% | 56.9% | 57.8% |
| SY 2016-17 | 47.5% | 49.9% | 48.8% | 49.3% |
| SY 2015-16 | 52.1% | 56.1% | 51.7% | 50.3% |
| SY 2014-15 | 47.7% | 54.5% | 50.7% | 49.1% |
Mathematics
| Year | School | District | County | State |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SY 2024-25 | 25.8% | 45.3% | 41.3% | 51.2% |
| SY 2023-24 | 23.6% | 38.3% | 36.5% | 40.4% |
| SY 2022-23 | 25.8% | 40.8% | 36.3% | 39.2% |
| SY 2021-22 | 27.5% | 38.1% | 35.0% | 38.0% |
| SY 2018-19 | 28.8% | 43.3% | 44.7% | 47.7% |
| SY 2017-18 | 34.0% | 48.2% | 47.0% | 47.9% |
| SY 2016-17 | 41.0% | 46.2% | 43.5% | 45.8% |
| SY 2015-16 | 35.9% | 51.0% | 46.8% | 46.8% |
| SY 2014-15 | 43.4% | 53.1% | 44.8% | 44.0% |
Science
| Year | School | District | County | State |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SY 2024-25 | 44.4% | 55.4% | 49.7% | 52.2% |
| SY 2023-24 | 48.0% | 50.9% | 47.9% | 47.1% |
| SY 2022-23 | 25.0% | 52.0% | 46.2% | 45.1% |
| SY 2021-22 | 45.8% | 49.3% | 45.2% | 44.8% |
| SY 2018-19 | 39.2% | 52.6% | 51.1% | 49.1% |
| SY 2017-18 | 47.9% | 53.5% | 53.3% | 49.6% |
| SY 2016-17 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| SY 2015-16 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| SY 2014-15 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
How to read these scores
What is Smarter Balanced + WCAS?
Washington public-school students in grades 3 through 8 plus grade 10 take the Smarter Balanced (SBAC) assessments in English Language Arts and Math each spring. The Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science (WCAS) is given at grades 5, 8, and 11.
What does "% Met or Exceeded Standard" mean?
It is the percentage of students at the school whose scores were rated Level 3 or Level 4 on the test. Smarter Balanced reports four performance levels; Level 3 ("Met Standard") and Level 4 ("Exceeded Standard") signal the student is performing at grade level or above. A higher number is better.
What does 32.3% mean for English Language Arts at Birchwood Elementary School?
It means about 32.3 percent of students tested at Birchwood Elementary School performed at grade level or above on the Smarter Balanced + WCAS English Language Arts test in 2024-25. The statewide average for Washington that year was 58.4%. The other students fell into the lower performance levels.
How is the state average calculated?
It is a weighted average, not a simple average of each school's number. We multiply each public school's score by how many of its students tested, add those together for all schools in Washington, and divide by the total students tested that year. This way a big school with 1,500 students counts more than a small school with 50 students, which is the right way to ask "how did the typical student do this year?". District and county averages on this page use the same method, just scoped to that district or county.
Where does this data come from?
Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), Report Card Assessment Data on data.wa.gov. Smarter Balanced (SBAC) ELA + Math (grades 3-8 + 10/11), Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science (WCAS) at grades 5, 8, 11. Headline metric is the cumulative Level 3 + Level 4 rate (Smarter Balanced "Met or Exceeded Standard").
How often is it updated?
Smarter Balanced + WCAS is administered once a year (spring). Results are released by the state in the summer or early fall. We refresh this page after each annual release.