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Curriculum & Assessment

Curriculum & Assessment

Assessment

Mount Vernon's Assessment team supports every district, state, and national assessment that touches our students. We coordinate training, administration windows, data analysis, and reporting so teachers and families get the information they need — and so students get a fair, well-run testing experience.

State testing covers grades 3-8 and one high school assessment each spring, with scores returned to families through Skyward by mid-to-late October. The page below brings together what families and staff most often need: testing windows, how to read Skyward scores, and what assessments mean for graduation.

When testing happens

2025-26 Assessment Calendars

The district publishes annual assessment calendars by school level. Current versions are hosted on Adobe Document Cloud:

Calendars are updated annually before the school year begins. If a link breaks, contact the Assessment office.

State testing overview

Washington's state tests include Smarter Balanced (ELA and Math, grades 3-8 and 10), Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science (WCAS, grades 5, 8, and high school), and the WIDA ACCESS test for multilingual learners. See OSPI's State Testing Overview for the full picture.

How to view your child's scores in Skyward

Skyward Family Access — score-viewing guides

State assessment scores post to Skyward Family Access every fall. Step-by-step guides are available in four languages:

These guides are currently hosted externally. Local copies will be uploaded as part of the records-compliance pass.

Graduation pathways and assessment requirements

About graduation pathways

Washington offers students multiple pathways to demonstrate readiness for graduation: state assessment, SAT/ACT, ASVAB, transition courses, CTE sequences, and dual-credit options. Students choose the pathway that fits their plans after high school. See Graduation Pathways at OSPI for the full set.

Family FAQs

OSPI maintains a multilingual FAQ on graduation pathways and assessment requirements. Currently hosted externally; local copies pending records-compliance pass:

  • Graduation Requirements & Options (English)
  • Spanish / Russian / Ukrainian translations of the FAQ are typically published by OSPI on a rolling schedule. If you need a current translation, contact your school counselor or the Mount Vernon Assessment office.

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