Alaska Department of Educ Releases 2019 Education Assessment Results; Significant Room for Growth Says Governor2019 Ketchikan Educ Assessment Results Show Loss in English Language Arts & Small Performance Gain in MathematicsBy MARY KAUFFMAN September 06, 2019
Approximately 76,400 students participated in the spring 2019 administration of PEAKS and the Alaska Science Assessment. PEAKS and the Alaska Science Assessment are statewide summative assessments designed to provide important data for parents, educators, policy makers, communities, and businesses about how Alaska’s schools and districts are performing. This information informs school improvement efforts at the state and local levels, and helps ensure there is equity in education for all students. Assessments are one piece of the larger education system, and Alaska’s statewide summative assessments are one part of a balanced assessment system. PEAKS assesses students in grades 3-9 on the state’s current English language arts and mathematics standards, adopted in 2012. PEAKS was first administered in spring 2017. The Alaska Science Assessment assesses students in grades 4, 8, and 10 on the state’s science standards. The spring 2019 administration assessed students on the now-former science standards, adopted in 2006. Starting in 2022, students will be assessed on Alaska’s revised science standards that were adopted in June 2019. Students score on a scale that is divided into four levels of achievement: advanced, proficient, below proficient, and far below proficient. “While I am pleased to see pockets of improvement from year to year, we must not be satisfied with our results. The 2019 PEAKS results show a large achievement gap still exists and the work to improve outcomes for all students must continue,” said Alaska Education Commissioner Dr. Michael Johnson. According to Tamara Van Wyhe, Director of Innovation and Education Excellence, “The department is focusing our efforts and aligning our support to school districts on the five measurable goals in Alaska’s Education Challenge aimed at increasing student achievement, including the importance of reading proficiency in the early grades. Additionally, this fall we will be rolling out an enhanced online reporting system with school-level profiles to provide parents and the public with more information about our schools and the factors that affect student achievement. School improvement is a complicated endeavor, and DEED is committed to providing timely and relevant information, resources, and leadership to schools and districts across the state as they focus on continuous improvement and growth.” “It will take the involvement of all Alaskans working together to ensure every student has an equitable opportunity to learn and succeed,” added Commissioner Johnson. Today in a prepared statement Alaska Governor Michael Dunleavy commented on the assessment results. Governor Dunleavy said, “The results of the 2019 PEAKS assessment should remind all Alaskans that we have significant room for growth when it comes to improving our education system in Alaska. While some may wish to point fingers or make excuses, it is in our students’ best interest that we use these results as an opportunity to increase our sense of urgency and our commitment to better outcomes." Governor Dunleavy said, “My administration believes we should work towards the Alaska’s Education Challenge plan that focuses our efforts on measurable goals that will increase student performance, including all our children reading proficiently by the time they finish the third grade, that all children are proficient in Algebra by the time they finish the eighth grade, and we provide relevant hands-on education opportunities that can translate into good paying careers. Until we agree that we have performance issues – in many of our schools – in these basic educational benchmarks, we will continue to shortchange students and impact their futures." “This is something we should all lock arms around so we may do what’s best for our kids. As my administration has stated in the past, we must also be willing to move beyond the idea that more money, without changes to the way we provide education, will produce different results,” said the governor. Ketchikan School District Highlights: With over 98% of Ketchikan School District students participating, the following performance evaluation results are reported by the Alaska Department of Education: All Grades (3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th) Ketchikan English Language Arts Performance Evaluation shows loss in performance.
In the Ketchikan School District the Economically Disadvantage in all grades tested performed lower in English Language Arts at 67.98% Below/Far Below Proficient with 43.44% of Economically Advantaged students Below/Far Below Proficient. All Grades Ketchikan Mathematics Perormance Evaluation 2019 shows small improvement:
In the Ketchikan School District 68.33% of Economically Disadvantaged in all grades tested were at Below/Far Below Proficiency in Mathematics with 47.81% of Economically Advantaged at Below/Far Below Proficiency in Math. Click here to view each Ketchikan School District grade seperately. Statewide, overall, 39.2 percent of students scored at a proficient level in English language arts, 35.7 percent of students scored at a proficient level in mathematics, and 44.6 percent of students scored at a proficient level in science. Statewide Highlights:
Ketchikan School District Individual School 2018-2019 Results English Language Arts & Mathematics:
Alaska Science Assessments
Ketchikan Individual Schools: Alaska Science Assessments results:
For other district results, go the Schoolwide Assessment Selection page provided by the Alaska Department of Education. Alaska Dept. of Education Previous Assessment Reports:
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