For two years now, the Agency of Education has conducted the Smarter Balanced Assessments among grades 3-6 and 11. These tests, given in every school in the state, assess a student’s proficiency in math, English, and language arts. The biggest revelation of the results? Vermont students are deficient in their math skills.
Regardless of how you learn, many people struggle with math so don’t feel alone.
High and low math scores are both analyzed by Education Department.
When discussing the results at a press conference, Secretary of Education Rebecca Holcombe vowed to analyze the teachings of those schools with the higher math scores. They would use their valuable findings to help the schools with the lowest scores. They will also double up efforts at math instruction centers.
We know (technical centers) play a critical role, particularly our young men who live in poverty, in building those high-level academic skills into a hands-on learning environment,” she said. “We’re very excited about some of the promising work taking place in that arena.
Laura Lurns · Learning Success expert
Key takeaways
- The Agency of Education has released the Smarter Balanced Assessments results for every school in the state — and the big takeaway is many students are deficient in math.
- In math, the percentages for each grade are 66 percent, 66 percent, 35 percent, 34 percent, 46 percent and 64 percent, respectively.
- At a news conference Wednesday, Secretary of Education Rebecca Holcombe discussed the test results and what the next steps were to improve education in the state.
Take the dyscalculia test
Is your child struggling in school?
Get your free personalized learning roadmap
You describe what you see at home. We turn it into a plan you start this week.
- Answer 5 short questionnaires about what you already notice, 30–45 minutes at your own kitchen table
- Your child sits no test and gets no score: nothing to schedule, nothing for them to dread
- You do the answering, the AI does the writing, and a person reviews it before it reaches you
- Access all 40+ courses instantly: reading, math, focus, processing and more, with new ones added regularly
Why we use AI, plainly: it writes from a knowledge base our team maintains and audits. We work through it line by line and pull anything the evidence stops supporting. The roadmap you get on Tuesday reflects what we corrected on Monday, and a human still reads it before you do.
Your school district must evaluate your child free of charge if you ask in writing, whatever your income and whatever the outcome (US, 34 CFR 300.111 and 300.301(b)). That route takes time and answers a different question than you do. This one starts today, from what you already know.
Your answers stay yours. We do not sell your personal information, and we do not hand identifiable assessment data to outside AI companies to train their models.
A screener is a starting point, not a diagnosis. If your child might need formal accommodations (an IEP or 504 plan), or you suspect a vision, hearing or medical cause, pursue a professional evaluation too. That is the only route to those supports.
