What can I expect my child to learn?

In 2010 the Oregon State Board of Education adopted the Common Core State Standards which represent K-12 learning expectations for students in English-language arts and Mathematics. These standards are the foundation of the Oregon diploma and guide Hermiston School District educators in what content and skills students are taught during each grade. 

Academic Content Standards

2019-2020 Course Catalog and Graduation Requirements

Below you will find parent guides that provide specific information regarding what you can expect your student to have the opportunity to learn in Language Arts and Mathematics in each grade throughout elementary school.  This resource is provided by the National Parent-Teacher Association.

English Language Arts & Literacy (English)

Artes lingüísticas de inglés y alfabetización (español)

Mathematics (English)

Matemática (español)

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.

State Level Assessments: Under the Student Assessment Bill of Rights, the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) and Oregon’s school districts must provide families with a “Notice of Statewide Tests and Opt-out Form” 30 days before the start of statewide testing. This year, school has been significantly disrupted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and other factors. In response, ODE asked the United States Department of Education for a temporary pause (also known as a “waiver”) in English Language Arts (ELA) and Math testing. A pause is also being requested for science testing, but science testing is not subject to this opt-out rule. 

• If this waiver request is approved, then statewide ELA and Math testing will not happen this year, and there will be no need for parents to submit opt-out forms to their child’s school. 
• If the waiver request is not approved, test windows will open on April 13, 2021. 

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.

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: 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 Mathscores 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. 

Opt Out Form English

Opt Out Form Spanish

Opt Out Information English

Opt Out Information Spanish

2020-2021 State Annual Notice English

2020-2021 State Annual Notice Spanish

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.