About this data

The state administers the Rhode Island Comprehensive Assessment System (RICAS) for grades 3-8 and the SAT for 11th graders annually in the spring. RICAS gives teachers, students, and families information about student progress, school performance, and how to improve teaching and learning. The performance standards for RICAS signal students’ readiness for the next grade level. Students with a proficient or above score are able to demonstrate grade level expectations.

In the 2021-22 administration of the RICAS the percentage of students meeting or exceeding expectations in ELA dropped 2 percentage points from the previous year, while the percentage of students meeting or exceeding expectations in Mathematics increased almost 7 percentage points. Scores for ELA and Math continue to be below pre-pandemic levels which were at 38.5% and 9.8% respectively. We continue to see large achievement gaps based on racial, economic, language ability, and disability status. SAT ELA scores for 11^th graders in 2021-22 demonstrated 47.2% of students were proficient. In math there were 25.5% students proficient. Again, there are large achievement gaps across racial, economic, language ability, and disability groups. The participation rate in 2021-22 increased from 89% to over 97%, still shy of the 99% rate in 2018-19

NOTE: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic testing was not administered in the 2019-20 school year, which is why data are not presented for 2020.