Washington releases state assessment results showing gains in math and English language arts

State education officials released the results of Washington’s spring 2025 state assessments in math and English language arts (ELA), showing continued improvement among students following pandemic disruptions. State Superintendent Chris Reykdal presented the data at a press conference in Olympia, noting that Washington students are performing as well as or better than peers nationally.

“Washington students continue to perform on par with or better than their peers across the nation,” Reykdal said. “Among the 11 other states using the same state test vendor as we do, our students have the second-highest performance in ELA and the fourth-highest performance in math. At the same time, we have gaps to close.”

The assessments, which are federally required for grades 3–8 and 10, aim to determine whether students are prepared for college-level work without remedial courses. The tests are not pass/fail and offer only a partial view of student learning since they are administered on a single day and scores can vary year by year.

“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.”

Reykdal addressed misconceptions about standardized test results: “There is a movement to privatize the public sector, and the deliberate misrepresentation and subsequent weaponization of test scores is a key tactic,” he said. “If you’ve ever heard that ‘half of our students can’t read or do basic math,’ you were lied to.”

Results from 2025 show progress across all grade levels in math and most grade levels in ELA compared to last year. In total, 71% of students showed foundational grade-level knowledge or above in ELA while 63% did so in math.

Achievement levels on these tests range from Level 1 (below grade level) to Levels 3 and 4 (on track for college-level learning). Level 2 reflects foundational grade-level skills.

Despite overall gains, gaps remain for historically underserved groups. State leaders highlighted ongoing needs for investments targeted at these groups—funding that may be threatened if federal programs such as Title I or Title III face cuts.

Reykdal pointed out that declines in reading and math scores seen globally over more than a decade mirror national trends but stressed adaptation: “The trends that we are seeing across the nation are mirrored internationally,” he said. “Both the way that young people are engaging with content in our digital world and the needs of the workforce are evolving all the time. To maintain competitiveness, our teaching has to evolve with it.”

He added: “We are jumping into this work in Washington state, starting with math,” Reykdal continued. “Traditional math instruction is centered on memorization and repetition. What our economy and our globe needs are critical thinkers who know how to apply their learning to real-world problems. In our schools, students are receiving math instruction in welding, construction, and a host of other applied programs.”

Superintendent Reykdal will propose new funding aimed at supporting K-8 math instruction as part of his upcoming budget request.

Detailed assessment data for each school district remains available through the Washington State Report Card portal online. Families seeking information about individual student results should contact their local school or district office.