WDE announces state testing results, students perform at pre-pandemic levels

CHEYENNE — Students in Wyoming’s public schools are once again testing at pre-pandemic levels in English language arts and science, with math close behind.

During a news conference Thursday, representatives of the Wyoming Department of Education released results for the 2024-25 Wyoming Test of Proficiency and Progress and Wyoming Alternate Assessment. English language arts and math testing are done annually in grades 3-10, while the science test is taken in grades 4, 8 and 10.

The test results showed a 1-3% improvement in all three tested content areas over last year.

“One year ago, I said that we have much work to do,” State Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder said. “Today, I come with results that show that in Wyoming, we know how to work.”

A year ago, WDE announced that 2023-24 test scores had remained stable compared to previous years, but remained below the pre-pandemic levels by about 1-2%.

This year, science scores increased 3.2%, surpassing pre-pandemic levels. ELA scores have increased by 2.3% over the previous year, meeting pre-pandemic levels, according to a WDE news release.

Math scores remain 0.4% below pre-pandemic levels, but have seen steady increases since 2021. Additionally, all grades except 6 had increased achievement over last year, according to the release.

“There’s much to celebrate today, as overall statewide proficiency has increased,” Degenfelder said.

Student proficiency increased across the board, compared to the previous year. ELA proficiency was 55.7%, math was 50.8%, and science was 51.2%, the state agency reported.

WDE compared these scores to the last year of testing before the pandemic, 2018-19. That year, ELA proficiency was 55.7%, math was 51.2%, and science was 49.3%.

While test scores improved on average, some districts stood out.  For the second year in a row, Washakie County School District 2, Ten Sleep K-12 School, excelled with top proficiency in all three content areas for a small district. The district scored 76.9% proficient in ELA, 80.6% in math and 83.9% in science.

Sheridan County School District 3 saw a roughly 12% increase in ELA and science, and Dubois Middle School saw a 33.5% increase in ELA.

Accountability

State school accountability is defined by the Wyoming Accountability and Education Act. Schools are rated at one of four levels: not meeting expectations, partially meeting expectations, meeting expectations and exceeding expectations.

Rankings are most heavily weighted by achievement on the state assessment, but are also impacted by growth, equity, ELA proficiency, graduation rate and post-secondary readiness, Degenfelder said. Alternative schools are also assessed based on climate and engagement.

Traditional schools made progress in their performance level rankings this year. Of traditional schools, 12% are exceeding, 44% are meeting, 28% are partially meeting and 17% are not meeting expectations.

Several schools jumped two categories in the past year. In particular, Degenfelder highlighted Natrona County School District 1. Various schools within the county jumped multiple levels in school performance ratings.

Three schools in the state have reached the “exceeding expectations” category for six consecutive years, one of which is the PODER Academy charter school in Laramie County.

“Despite the wonderful results that we see during today’s release, there is still much work to do,” Degenfelder said. “The percentage of schools not meeting expectations only reduced by 1%.”

Seventy percent of schools in grades 3-8 are meeting or exceeding in achievement, an increase of 10% last year. Seven percent of schools remain not meeting expectations for three consecutive years.