The 2021 Smarter Balanced Assessment and Vermont Science Assessment were administered in Spring of 2021 under extraordinary pandemic conditions. The challenges in administering these federally required assessments during the 2020-21 school year, coupled with lower and uneven participation rates potentially caused by remote and hybrid learning mean that Vermont’s 2021 Smarter Balanced and Vermont Science Assessment scores cannot be compared to prior year performance. The AOE suggests not comparing these results to future years either, as the atypical administration conditions, combined with variable opportunity to learn and disproportionate participation across student populations (e.g., significantly fewer students on IEPs participated in state assessments in 2021) remain significantly different from any other year.  In 2023 Vermont administered a new assessment, The Vermont Comprehensive Assessment Program (VTCAP), and therefore the result of assessment results should not be compared to prior years.