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Alaska: Vendor for English, Math, and Science Student Assessments Selected - The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development has selected Data Recognition Corp. (DRC) as its vendor for statewide student assessments in English language arts, math, and science.

The assessments from Data Recognition Corp. will first be administered in spring 2017. Students will take the English language arts and math assessments in grades 3 to 10, and the science assessments in grades 4, 8, and 10. School districts can choose to give the assessments on paper or by computer.

The U.S. Department of Education had waived, after the fact, the federal requirement for Alaska to administer English language arts, mathematics, and science assessments in the 2015-2016 school year. Also waived was the federal requirement to publicly report data from 2015-2016 assessments.

The U.S. Department of Education granted the waiver on the condition that Alaska administer assessments in 2016-2017. The state was not able to complete the assessments last school year because of significant technical problems with administering the computer-based tests.

These end-of-year assessments inform policy makers and the public, including parents, about how well students are meeting Alaska’s academic standards; provide data to improve schools and to close achievement gaps; and ensure equity in educational opportunity for all students. School districts will continue to use classroom assessments throughout the school year to monitor student progress and inform instruction.

“The statewide assessments are just one piece of a balanced accountability system,” Commissioner Dr. Michael Johnson said. “They give parents, educators, policy makers and citizens information on how well the public education system is working. Additionally, an effective statewide assessment system is an essential part of student learning. Our new assessments will maximize the purpose of a statewide assessment and minimize the amount of time needed to take the test.”

The department and Data Recognition Corp. are negotiating a contract for the current school year, with options for annual renewals through the 2020-2021 school year. The federal government contributes approximately $3.5 million a year toward the cost of Alaska’s statewide assessments. The state pays the remainder of costs. The department chose DRC, which is headquartered in Maple Grove, Minn., from among six applicants. The five other vendors were Measured Progress, Measurement Inc., PARCC, Pearson, and Questar.

“This assessment is one piece of the accountability system that will offer a high-level picture of how schools are doing,” said Sean Dusek, Superintendent of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District and president of the Alaska Superintendents Association. “There will be growing pains in any transition, but we trust the Commissioner and state department on their selection and believe the appropriate support will be provided to implement this assessment. We also believe that minimal instructional time will be necessary to implement this assessment so that we can maintain our focus on meeting individual student needs while still being accountable to state and federal oversight.” - More...
Monday PM - December 05, 2016

Alaska: Alaska Employment Down 1.6 Percent in First Half of 2016 - Detailed data released Friday by the Alaska Department of Labor for the first half of 2016 show that job loss in Alaska has spread to most sectors of the economy. Average monthly employment in the first six months of 2016 was down 5,530 jobs, or 1.6 percent, compared to the first half of 2015. Employment losses accelerated from a 1.2 percent decline in January to a 2.5 percent decline in June.

According to the data, employers paid $8.6 billion in wages during the first six months of 2016, down from $9.1 billion during the first half of 2015, a 4.5 percent decline when adjusted for inflation.

Private sector employment was down 4,867 jobs, or 1.9 percent, driven largely by losses in oil and construction. Oil and gas industry employment was down 2,384 jobs, which was an average monthly loss of 16.4 percent. Oil industry cutbacks escalated through the first half of the year, from 11.9 percent fewer jobs in January to 22.1 percent fewer in June.

Alaska Science: In Yakutat, the extreme forces shaping Alaska converge By NED ROZELL - The forces shaping Alaska never sleep, especially near Yakutat.

Hubbard Glacier calves into Disenchantment Bay north of Yakutat.
Photograph by Ned Rozell

The relentless advance of Hubbard takes center stage in Yakutat, but the area surrounding the town is one of the world's great examples of geology in action.

To the west of Yakutat, Mount St. Elias rises like a white pyramid to an elevation of 18,008 feet in one of the world's most dramatic transitions from sea to summit. The Yakutat block, a chunk of Earth's crust larger in area than Pennsylvania, is responsible for forming Mount St. Elias and the other mountains of the St. Elias and Chugach ranges.

The Yakutat block formed somewhere off the West Coast of the U.S. or Canada and, in a trip that took a few million years, rode the top of the Pacific plate to its present location along Alaska's coastal Southeast. The Yakutat block rams into the North American plate at a speed of about 2 inches each year, twice as fast as India is shoving into Asia to form the Himalayas, according to GPS measurements by researchers with the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Near West Nunatak Glacier, about 30 miles northwest of Yakutat, scientists including Chris Larsen used GPS receivers to find a hillside rising toward the sky at 1 1/3 inches each year. The rise is due the ground rebounding from the weight of melting glaciers, and to a lesser extent earthquake activity.

Along with the Glacier Bay area to the south, the land around Yakutat is rising faster than any other place measured, except for scattered volcanoes inflated by molten rock. - More...
Monday PM - December 05, 2016

Columns - Commentary

I don't have the space to do injustice to all of them, but some of them just beg for comment.

Of course you may wonder why "Time" feels compelled to release its list with more than a month left to go in the year. Isn't it possible that someone could unveil some brilliant labor-saving device or cultural milestone during the twelfth month?

Okay, truthfully, Kickstarter startups do tend to get pushed aside by all the holiday hubbub and year-end inventory reduction zaniness. The only thing that MIGHT be brainstormed in December is a 3D copier for use at the office Christmas party. ("My butt may be out on the sidewalk tomorrow morning, but at least I can sit in THIS butt!")

The editors of "Time" shine a spotlight on Medtronic's MiniMed 670G, an iPod-sized device that the magazine dubs "the artificial pancreas." It's a genuine boon for Type 1 diabetes patients, since it can help them regulate their sugar level. But look for money-grubbing copycat entrepreneurs to lobby for the use of "the artificial appendix" and "the artificial irregularly shaped mole." - More...
Monday PM - December 05, 2016

WILL DURST: The Top 10 Comedic News Stories of 2016 - It's the first week of December, and all over the nation children dance while grandparents twitch with anticipation. Which, admittedly, isn't that out of the ordinary. During this festive season rife with traditions, none is more hallowed than that magical moment when the Top Ten Comedic News Stories of the year are unveiled. Truly this is the most wonderful time of the year.

Please be advised that the Top Ten Comedic News Stories of 2016 are not in any way, shape or form to be confused with the Top Ten Legitimate News Stories of 2016. No. No. No. They are as different as cute kitten videos and stainless steel collar stays. Petroleum jelly and the cobblestones outside 10 Downing Street. Corn chowder and Michelangelo's David. Trope and tripe.

Sure, the year was littered with serious misadventures involving terrorism, deadly viruses, the Kardashians and all sorts of other natural disasters, including, but not limited to: Zika infested Oregon Militia Occupiers in driverless cars being forced to platform dive into Flint, Michigan tap water while Ryan Lochte threw Brazilian gas station bathroom keys at them. But here at Durstco we try to concentrate more on the lighter side of the vast dark spooky chasms of reality.

So here they are, the stories from the first eleven- twelfths of 2016 that most lent themselves to the humorous, amusing and comedic. - More...
Monday PM - December 05, 2016