Skip to main content
District
  1. Departments
  2. Teaching & Learning
  3. Assessment

Assessment

Hermiston School District utilizes a balanced system of assessment that includes a continuum of tools and strategies that measure student learning. Assessment occurs at multiple levels and serve a variety of purposes.

Parents have the option to “opt out” their student from any of these required state assessments by completing the appropriate forms below. The forms can be emailed to assessment@hermistonsd.org or printed and returned to the district office in care of assessment. HSD encourages parents to have a conversation with the classroom teacher or building administrator prior to opting your student out, to learn about the accommodations and/or more details about how the tests are administered.

  • State Assessments will be taking place in April and May. Schools are required to test learners in English Language Arts and Math in grades 3-8 and 11, and in Science in grades 5, 8, and 11.

    Please see below for more information about what testing will look like for your child.

    Elementary Schools

    English Language Arts (ELA): April 29 - May 3
    Math: May 13-17
    English Language Proficiency Assessment (ELPA): March 4-21

    Testing gives educators and districts crucial information about how we’re serving your kids, but we also know that it’s important to protect time used for learning in the classroom. In order to minimize the amount of class time lost to testing, kids in grades 3-5 will have a week to complete their ELA assessments and another week to complete their Math assessments. During these testing weeks, kids will still receive instruction in other subjects and participate in their regular specials classes like PE and Music.

    It’s important to make sure your kids are in attendance during these two testing weeks, so they can get back to their typical learning schedule as soon as possible. Anyone who is absent during testing, will have to complete their test at another time and may miss other important instruction and/or activities as a result.

    Middle & High Schools

    Middle School Testing Week: May 1-9
    Hermiston High School Testing Week: April 17-21

    Testing gives educators and districts crucial information about how we’re serving your kids, but we also know that it’s important to protect time used for learning in the classroom. In order to minimize the amount of class time lost to testing, Middle School and High School schedules have been adjusted to create a Testing Week that will allow learners to complete all the tests required for their grade level in approximately one week.

    It’s important to make sure your kids are in attendance during Testing Week, so they can get back to their typical learning schedule the next week. Anyone who is absent during Testing Week, will have to complete their test during electives so they’re not missing additional time in core content classes like Language Arts, Math, and Science.

    Please see below for more information on the importance of participating in State testing.

    Why state testing participation matters

Impacts of Opting Your Student Out

  • Information: Valuable information about your student’s K–12 learning progress will be lost. Assessment is an important part of teaching and learning. State tests provide parents and educators with meaningful diagnostic information about a student’s progress in mastering certain content and skills. The redesigned state tests in math and language arts (beginning in 2015) are expected to provide even more useful information. A significant consequence of not taking these tests is the loss of valuable information about your student’s progress, and the lost opportunity to shape future instruction accordingly.
  • Preparation: Statewide assessments provide key information about whether your student is on track for graduation, and where he or she may need more help. Additionally, your student may be disadvantaged if his or her first exposure to standardized tests is in high school.
  • Graduation: This requirement has been suspended through the 2027-2028 school year.
    In order to graduate from high school in Oregon, your student must meet standards on the statewide assessment or an alternative assessment. Oregon’s graduation requirements include demonstrating proficiency in the essential skills of reading, writing and math. Most students do this by meeting standards on the state test. If they do not take or do not pass the state test, they must demonstrate proficiency either by meeting standards on another approved standardized test, or through work samples, which likely would require taking an additional class in place of another chosen course or elective. 
  • College placement: Some colleges and universities now use students’ performance on the OSAS ELA or Math assessment to determine whether a student is ready to take credit-bearing college courses or must take remedial classes that cost the same as college courses but do not count toward a college degree. Students who go to a college using OSAS ELA or Math scores for placement purposes may be required to take additional college placement tests if they have not completed the OSAS ELA or Math assessment.
  • School rating: If too few students are assessed, your school’s rating on the state school report card will be negatively impacted. A school’s rating can influence how a school is perceived and how well it attracts and retains student enrollment and neighborhood residents. Under Oregon’s school accountability system, schools and districts that have state testing participation rates below the minimum requirement, 94.5% of all students and 94.5% of each subgroup of students, will have their overall school rating lowered by one level (out of five) per each consecutive year participation rates are not met.

District Level Assessments

These assessments monitor student academic growth across the district and help provide information regarding specific reading and math skills/standards students may be deficient.  Targeted interventions are then prescribed to help students move towards grade level proficiency or to boost them to their next learning experience. These universal screenings are offered three times a school year: Fall, Winter and Spring.

Classroom Level Assessments

Educators administer “quick” checks for understanding along with end of unit assessments to monitor student understanding of concepts and skills in order to help with instructional decisions.