Alaska State Literacy Blueprint

Comprehensive Assessment

Vision: Beginning in infancy, children participate in a variety of assessments that monitor their progress and development of language and, later, literacy skills. Educators at the state, district, and school level as well as preschool teachers and daycare providers, are knowledgeable about assessment data and use valid and reliable assessments to inform themselves and others about the development of children’s literacy. They ask different questions about assessment results depending on the types of decisions to be made. Educators in schools and districts share assessment results collegially as well as with students and families to help them understand how a student is progressing.


Quick View of Comprehensive Assessment:

Assessment plays a critical role in instruction in terms of meeting individual needs and providing learning opportunities designed for maximum growth. The blueprint details the following areas of assessment:

  • Types of assessments
  • Administration of assessments
  • Using assessments to identify individual student needs
  • Management of assessment data
  • Appropriate use of assessment results
  • Sharing of results

Types of Assessments

  • Districts, schools, early care and learning programs use a variety of universal screenings and assessments that include parent and caregiver observations and experiences.
  • Screening measures for 3-5 year olds include the following:
    • Expressive and receptive language.
    • Vocabulary.
    • Engagement in appropriate social conversation and conventions.
    • Phonological awareness.
    • Knowledge of the alphabet
    • Interest in and awareness of books.
    • “Reading” pictures.
    • Retelling stories.
    • Making predictions.
    • Drawing or writing
  • Children are screened in their primary language.

Assessments Administration

  • A variety of professionals conduct assessments in many settings.
  • Medical professionals screen for hearing, vision, and development
  • Well-child check-ups include literacy screening.
  • Home visitor programs conduct developmental screenings that include a literacy component.
  • Parents, caregivers, and teachers frequently use informal and formal assessments to monitor children’s developmental progress.
  • Parents will have access to and be able to use assessments and the information provided to obtain services as needed for their children.
  • Physicians’ offices conduct universal screenings at the well-child exams in order to access needed support.
  • Districts and communities cooperate to ensure that all three-year-olds have access to developmental screening, including screening for language and literacy development.

Identifying Learning Needs

  • For children who have difficulties with language and pre-literacy development, educators work with parents to use appropriate diagnostic assessments to determine if the child should be referred to support services.

Management of Assessment Data

  • The state maintains a secure database, and districts and programs are encouraged to submit the data they collect from screenings or pre-kindergarten assessments to allow teams of educators and community members to examine trends and needs, both statewide and in specific districts and communities.

Appropriate Use of Assessment Results

  • In early care and learning programs, administrators and teachers are trained to use and share data, including with parents.
  • In early care and learning programs, administrators and teachers have protected time to review data.
  • District, school, and early care and learning program administrators ensure that they and teachers receive and use data reports to inform instruction.

Sharing Results

  • Agencies and early care and learning programs that test children provide parents with formal and informal assessment results.

Type of Assessments

  • Districts and schools use a variety of universal screeners, diagnostic assessments, progress-monitoring tools, informal assessments and state outcome assessments for specific purposes and to address different questions.
  • Screening measures include early literacy skills for kindergarten and first grade and fluency and comprehension for students in second grade and beyond.
  • For ELLs, primary language literacy is assessed, when appropriate, and considered when making placement decisions.
  • For all ELLs, progress-monitoring includes monitoring of progress in English language development.

Assessment Administration

  • School districts administer an outcome assessment once a year to determine whether students achieve State Language Arts Standards.
  • Trained educators administer reading and writing assessments.
  • Educators administer brief screening assessments three times a year to ensure early identification of reading difficulties.
  • Schools create and follow a plan for monitoring progress of and measuring the effectiveness of interventions for struggling readers.
  • Teachers administer ongoing formative assessment during instruction.
  • Districts ensure that those administering assessments understand and use any accommodations that might be appropriate for ELLs.

Identifying Learning Needs

  • Educators analyze data to determine specific areas in reading development that are causing a student to struggle
    • Diagnostic measures include assessment of basic skills for students with very low fluency as well as use of strategies.

Management of Assessment Data

  • The state and districts maintain a data management system that provide secure, real-time access to data, including multiple indicators, and that allows teams of educators to examine both performance levels and growth over time.
  • The state and district’s data management systems allows for disaggregation of data to examine performance of sub-groups of students.

Appropriate Use of Assessment Results

  • State leadership, district leadership, and school teams, including principals, analyze state outcome data promptly after outcome assessment results are available.
  • District leadership and school teams analyze universal screening data promptly after screening to identify students who are at risk and in need of intervention and students who are above proficient and in need of enrichment.
  • Intervention providers use progress-monitoring data to determine whether the student is responding to instructional interventions.
  • Administrators and teachers analyze program assessment data to determine whether students are mastering skills taught within core literacy instruction.
  • Administrators and teachers are trained to use and share data with all stakeholders as appropriate and within the protections of FERPA.
  • Administrators and teachers have dedicated time to review data.
  • District and school administrators ensure that they and teachers receive data reports that disaggregate results by key demographic subgroups.

Sharing Results

  • The state, district, and/or schools share results with stakeholders (community, school board, parents and students) as appropriate.
  • Elementary schools share spring screening results for fifth grade students with educators at middle school to ensure a smooth transition and adequate preparation for incoming students.

Type of Assessments

  • Districts and schools use a variety of universal screeners, diagnostic assessments, progress-monitoring tools, informal assessments, and state outcomes for different purposes and to address different questions. Compared to the elementary grades, there is even more variation in the type of assessments used because of the different types of literacy demands in different disciplines.
  • Screening measures include fluency screening measures of all students who do not pass the state reading assessment or who transfer in without comparable test scores.
  • For new immigrant ELLs, primary language literacy is assessed, when possible, and considered when making placement decisions. For all ELLs, progress-monitoring includes monitoring of progress in English language development.

Assessment Administration

  • School districts administer an outcome assessment once a year to determine whether students achieve State Language Arts Standards.
  • Trained educators administer reading and writing assessments
  • Schools create and follow a plan for monitoring progress of and measuring the effectiveness of interventions for struggling readers.
  • Teachers administer ongoing formative assessment during instruction.
  • Districts ensure that those administering assessments understand and use any accommodations that might be appropriate for ELLs.

Identifying Learning Needs

  • Educators analyze data to determine specific areas in reading development that are causing a student to struggle.
    • Diagnostic measures include assessment of basic skills for students with very low fluency as well as use of strategies.

Management of Assessment Data

  • The state and districts maintain a data management system that provide secure, real-time access to data, including multiple indicators, and that allows teams of educators to examine both performance levels and growth over time.
  • The state and district’s data management systems allows for disaggregation of data to examine performance of sub-groups of students.

Appropriate Use of Assessment Results

  • State leadership, district leadership, and school teams, including principals, analyze state outcome data promptly after outcome assessment results are available.
  • District leadership and school teams analyze universal screening data promptly after screening to identify students who are at risk and in need of intervention as well as students who are above proficient and in need of enrichment.
  • Intervention educators use progress-monitoring data to determine whether the student is responding to instructional interventions.
  • Administrators and teachers analyze program assessment data to determine not only whether students are learning the key content of a discipline but also their mastery of the literacy demands of that discipline.
  • Administrators and teachers are trained to use and share data with all stakeholders as appropriate and within the protections of FERPA.
  • Administrators and teachers have dedicated time to review data.
  • District and school administrators ensure that they and teachers receive data reports that disaggregate results by key demographic subgroups.

Sharing Results

  • The state, district, and/or schools share results with stakeholders (community, school board, parents and students) as appropriate.
  • Middle schools share spring screening results for eighth grade students with educators at high school to ensure a smooth transition and adequate preparation for incoming students.