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OSAS Mathematics Assessment

Overview

Student assessment is a vital component of high-quality education as it surfaces student thinking and helps educators respond in ways that that support deeper learning. The Oregon Statewide Assessment System (OSAS) includes several resources that align with the Oregon K-12 Math Standards and support mathematics teaching and learning throughout the year. ODE has developed two video resources that provide an overview of statewide assessment:

ODE has also published a serires of assessment literacy modules, available in English and Spanish.

  • The federally required statewide summative OSAS Math Test is administered annually to most students in grades 3 – 8 and 11. Students experiencing significant cognitive disabilities take the Oregon Extended Math Test.
  • Local performance assessments in math problem solving are required to be administered annually to students in grades 3 – 8 and at least once in high school.
  • A variety of optional OSAS Interim Assessments are available statewide at no cost. These tests are designed to be used formatively throughout the teaching and learning process to gather evidence of student learning.
  • The Assessment of Essential Skills graduation policy remains suspended through 2027–28. For more information visit the Assessment of Essential Skills webpage.

OSAS Statewide Summative Assessment

Statewide summative tests are designed to provide key information that helps schools and districts evaluate how well they are meeting the needs of students across various focal groups. These tests are required by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the federal K-12 education law of the United States. Most students in grades 3 – 8 and 11 will take a general form of Oregon’s summative test, developed in collaboration with the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium and delivered online by a trained Test Administrator (TA). Students with significant cognitive disabilities will take an alternate form of the assessment, called the Oregon Extended (ORExt) Math Test. The ORExt Math Test is developed in collaboration with Behavioral Research and Teaching at the University of Oregon and is delivered in a one-on-one format by a trained Qualified Assessor (QA).


  • OSAS Target Explorer
    A comprehensive resource to understand the connections between claims, targets, and Oregon’s K-12 Math Standards. Each OSAS assessment target includes standards-specific guidance, Achievement Level Descriptors (ALDs), OSAS Sample Items, and links to OSAS Interim Assessments.
  • Smarter Content Explorer
    This website provides interactive connections between Oregon’s previous K-12 Math Standards and assessment Claims and Targets. Additional resources include accessibility guidelines, scoring rubrics, and more. For more information on navigating and using the website, please refer to the following Smarter Content Explorer video​.

  • OSAS Sample and Training Tests
    Practice tests are designed to prepare students for the experience of taking an OSAS test, including interacting with all item types and using accommodations and designated supports. No login is required; however, educators may use the TA Practice Site to proctor the test to better understand the test delivery interface.

  • OSAS Sample Item Database
    Each year, Smarter Balanced releases test items to the public as examples of the various item types used on the OSAS Math Test, the range of cognitive challenge of test items, and for students to better understand how to interact with the testing interface. These items can be used instructionally, in professional learning, included in newsletters to families, and more.

  • ​​ Assessment Resources Use Chart​
    This document provides a side-by-side comparison of training tests, practice tests, and interim assessments to help teachers decide which tool best fits their needs.​​

  • Development and Design
    Content and Item Specifications translate Oregon K-12 Mathematics Standards into assessment frameworks and evidence.

  • ​Mathematics Construct-Relevant Vocabulary
    Quick reference document that includes the construct relevant vocabulary for grades 3-8 and high school, sourced from the Claim 1 item specifications.

  • Oregon Mathematics Performance Task Scoring Rubrics

    Includes Performance Task Scoring Rubrics for use in preparing for the OSAS Mathematics Test.

    ​​​​4 Point Item Rubric, 3 Point Item Rubric, 2 Point Item Rubric, ​1 Point Item Rubric​

  • Read Aloud Guidelines for OSAS ELA and Mathematics Tests (English)(Spanish)

    Human test readers must use these guidelines for students using Read Aloud or Read Aloud in Spanish designated support. Recommendations for use are detailed in the Oregon Accessibility Manual.

  • ​Understanding Student Scores​​​
  • Assessment Results
    The reports on this page display the percent of students meeting or exceeding the achievement standards that were in place during the academic year the results are reported.
  • Cross-Sectional (Target) Reports
    Cross-sectional reports show the performance of students on grade-level targets compared to proficiency, as well as which of these targets are relative strengths and weaknesses. Additional resources, including a Canvas course, can be found on the Assessment Professional Development webpage.
  • Achievement Standards​ (cut scores)
    This reference document shows the achievement standards for Oregon’s Statewide Assessments by content area and grade/benchmark level.​​

OSAS Interim Assessments

OSAS Interim Assessments are designed to be embedded within curricula throughout the year to support ongoing teaching and learning throughout the school year. These short, just-in-time Interim Assessment Blocks (IABs) elicit evidence of student thinking across the full depth, breadth, and complexity of the Oregon K-12 Math Standards, including the Standards for Mathematical Practice. Most Interim Assessment Blocks (IABs) contain around 15 items and take most students about 30-45 minutes to complete. Results from the IABs directly inform teaching and learning and connect with the Smarter Balanced Tools for Teachers platform, which provides supplemental instructional resources and formative assessment strategies.

Oregon offers over 90 math interim assessments blocks (IABs) that are designed to be used formatively to adjust instruction throughout the learning process. Most IABs are composed of 8-15 items and take approximately 30-45 minutes for most students to complete. Other distinguishing features of Oregon’s interim assessments are:

  • IABs are fully aligned to the depth and breadth of Oregon’s K-12 Math Standards
  • IABs provide smaller bundles of content that can be used as needed for “just in time” adjustments
  • IABs allow for frequent and flexible use
  • IABs can be easily embedded within mathematics unit maps (learn how!​)
  • Interim items include all accessibility resources available in Oregon’s summative tests
  • IABs can be used outside of students’ grade level
  • IABs connect directly to instructional next steps in Tools for Teachers

For more information, including a catalog of IABs and administration instructions, please visit ODE’s Interim Assessment webpage.

Performance Assessment

Oregon is one of only a few states that requires performance-based assessments in math problem solving be administered locally each academic year to students in grades 3 - 8 and once in high school. This two-page Practice Brief is designed to help educators and leaders take a student-centered approach to meeting the requirements of the policy by understanding the benefits of performance-based assessments, how to use district-adopted instructional materials as a source of LPAs, and how to use a single task across multiple content areas. Consult ODE’s Local Performance Assessment Manual for more information.

Oregon’s Local Performance Assessment requirement champions the value of performance-based assessments. Districts and public charter schools must administer one or more performance assessments each year to all students in grades 3 through 8 and at least once in high school in the content areas of writing, speaking, math problem solving, and scientific inquiry. ODE encourages districts to regularly administer local performance assessments throughout their curriculum.
Scoring Guide and Feedback Forms
For local performance assessments, districts may locally develop scoring guidelines so that they can provide feedback to students, or they may use the state Scoring Guide.
Sample Tasks and Scored Student Work
Other Resources

Additional Resources

These resources for educators, districts, families, and community members further explore math standards, instructional supports, and assessment. Deepen your understanding of Oregon’s K-12 Math Standards, which drive our statewide assessment, and stay connected to OSAS and math education updates, as well as professional learning opportunities designed to enrich your instruction and assessment practices in math education.

Communication
  • Sign up for the Oregon Math Educator Update​​, a periodic newsletter sent by the Oregon Department of Education, to get regular updates and links to math opportunities in our state.
  • ODE developed an Assessment Communication Toolkit, available in over 10 languages, that highlights the value of participating in Oregon’s Statewide Assessment System. The toolkit has resources for students, families, educators, and more. The full Toolkit is available on the Assessment Communication webpage.
Professional Learning
  • Understanding Proficiency: Performance Tasks
    Resources to help educators develop a deeper understanding of the Oregon Academic Content Standards by analyzing student work on performance tasks. Central to these resources are samples of real student work on sample ELA and Math performance tasks.
  • Assessment Professional Learning​
    Resources to help educators and administrators gain assessment literacy and hone their practice within a balanced assessment system.



The Oregon Math Leaders Network is a community of math practitioners who work together to implement and support math teaching and learning in Oregon. Participants include teacher leaders, TOSAs, program administrators, college faculty, and math community partners. The rule of thumb: If you identify as a math leader, you are! 

We meet virtually each month to support each other personally and professionally by asking critical questions, collaborating on problems of practice, and sharing our work. Because this network spans the state, the topics of our collaboration will generally be driven by district needs. 

The virtual meetings are generally on the third Thursday of each month from 8:30 - 9:30 AM PT. Register now for the 2024-25 Zoom series. Check the ODE Mathematics webpage for additional leadership development events.

For more information about Oregon's Mathematics Assessment, please contact Andrew Byerley.