Idaho 2021 ISAT scores show small decline
BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) – The latest statewide results for the Idaho Standards Achievement Test show a small decline in students’ proficiency in English Language Arts and Mathematics since 2019, the last time the ISAT was administered.
“The onset of the pandemic in spring 2020 disrupted the ISAT along with all Idaho school operations, so we weren’t surprised that scores did not continue the gradual upward trend of the previous few years of testing,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Sherri Ybarra said. “We expected an impact, and now we can use these results to move forward to rebuild academic performance.”
The ISAT is administered each spring (with the exception of 2020) to all public school students in grades 3-8 and 10, gauging their proficiency in Mathematics and English Language Arts/ Literacy.
Nearly 163,000 students took the test this past spring. Results show:
- Overall, 54.1% of students scored proficient or advanced in English Language Arts, down from 55% in 2019.
- In math, 39.6% of students scored proficient or advanced in 2021, down from 44.4% in 2019.
- Proficiency varied by grade level, with some grades showing greater proficiency than their counterparts in 2019. The superintendent’s Department of Assessment and Accountability is analyzing the results to help explain the patterns.
“When comparing results from different years, it is important to remember that they reflect different cohorts of students, and that proficiency is only one measure of achievement,” Assessment and Accountability Director Kevin Whitman said.
Statewide, district and school-level results are available on the Assessment Results web page, along with results for grade levels and demographic groups.
This year, Idaho students in grades 5, 8 and 11 also took a new science ISAT, but no results were reported because it was a “field test,” used to check whether the test functioned as intended and to help design the final test form. That test will be administered next year for the first time.
