Assessment is an integral part of curriculum and instructional decisions made within the Tukwila School District. Learning opportunities and assessment practices are designed to address a wide range of student learning styles and abilities. The review of assessment data includes collecting and analyzing individual student, building and district-wide performance.

The Measures of Student Progress Exams (MSP)  Grades 3-8

The High School Proficiency Exams (HSPE)  Grades 9-12

The MSP and HSPE measures student performance against a standard.  The tests utilize multiple choices, short answer and fill-in response choices.    Students who score 400 and above are said to have met standard.  Students scoring below 400 are said to have not met standard.  Students in grades 3 are assessed in reading and math.  Students in grades 4 and 7 are assessed in reading, math and writing.  Students in grades 5 and 8 are assessed in math, reading and science.  Students in grade 10 are assessed in reading, math, writing and science.   High school students must pass the reading and writing tests as part of the high school graduation requirements.  Students may retest as needed to meet the high school standards.

Locally Determined Tests

Tukwila School District also uses a variety of tests to assess classroom performance on reading, writing, and math skills. All students in grades K-5 are tested on the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy (DIBELS) to measure their progress in reading.  Students in grades 6-10 take the Degrees of Reading Power (DRP) test  to measure their progress in reading.

In 2009-2010 students will participate in the Summit Benchmark Assessments in mathematics in grades K-8 and in appropriate high school math classes.

For more information about these tests, please contact your local school.  

 Please contact Linda L. Elman, Ph.D., Director of Research and Assessment, for additional information.  (206) 901-8032;