- Cama-i, quyana tailuci!
- (Central Yup’ik)
- "Greetings, thank you for coming!"
Alaska's Required Statewide Assessments
In response to Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) has submitted a request to the U.S. Department of Education (US ED) to waive certain requirements of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA, section 1111) related to assessment requirements.
On March 23, 2020, US ED gave notification to DEED that the wavier will be approved. As a result, spring 2020 administrations of the following assessments have been cancelled:
* PEAKS content area assessments in Mathematics, English Language Arts, and the Alaska Science Assessment
* Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM) alternate assessment
* WIDA ACCESS for ELLs and Alternate ACCESS
The public may submit comment on this waiver by completing the Assessment and Accountability Waiver Public Comment Survey. The survey will remain open until May 6, 2020.
PEAKS and Alaska Science Assessment
The Performance Evaluation for Alaska’s Schools (PEAKS) and the Alaska Science Assessment are designed to measure a student’s understanding of the skills and concepts outlined in the Alaska English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics Standards and the Alaska Science Grade Level Expectations - GLEs (pdf) . The Alaska English Language Arts and Mathematics Standards are specific rigorous expectations for growth in students’ skills across grades.
| Requirement | 4 AAC 06.737 Standards-based test |
|---|---|
| Content Area Being Assessed | English language arts, mathematics, and science |
| Students | Grades 3-9: ELA and math, grades 4, 8, and 10: science |
| Estimated Student Test Time | Varies by grade and content. PEAKS and AK Science Estimated Test Times |
| Test Window | March 30 ‐ May 1, 2020 Contact your school or district for details. |
| Results | Released in late July/early August each year. Contact your school or district for details. |
For more information, please visit the PEAKS webpage.
Dynamic Learning Maps
Dynamic Learning Maps or DLM, is Alaska’s alternate assessment. DLM is administered to those students who have significant cognitive disabilities and cannot participate in PEAKS or the Alaska Science Assessment.
| Requirement | 4 AAC 06.775 Statewide assessment program for students with disabilities |
|---|---|
| Content Area Being Assessed | English language arts, mathematics, and science |
| Students | Students with significant cognitive disabilities in grades 3-9: ELA and math, grades 4, 8, and 10: science |
| Estimated Student Test Time | Varies based on grade level and content area. Reading: 90‐135 minutes Writing: 10‐20 minutes Mathematics: 60‐120 minutes |
| Test Window | March 16 ‐ May 1, 2020 Contact your school or district for specific testing days. |
| Results | Released in June each year. Contact your school or district for details. |
For more information, please visit the DLM webpage.
ACCESS for ELLs
In early 2011, the Alaska Department of Education & Early Development signed a memorandum of understanding with the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Center for Educational Research to obtain a new English language proficiency assessment. The test, Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-to-State for English Language Learners (ACCESS for ELLs) is a product of the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment Consortium (WIDA)
| Requirement | 4 AAC 06.776 Assessment of a student that is an English learner |
|---|---|
| Content Area Being Assessed | English language proficiency (Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking) |
| Students | All EL students in grades K-12 |
| Estimated Student Test Time | Varies by grade Kindergarten: 45 minutes Grades 1‐12: 40‐65 minutes per domain |
| Test Window | February 3 ‐ March 31, 2020 Contact your school or district for specific testing days. |
| Results | Released in May or June each year. Contact your school or district for details. |
For more information, please visit the ELP webpage.
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as “the Nation’s Report Card,” is the only nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America’s students know and can do in various subject areas. Its two major goals are to measure student achievement and to report change in performance over time.
| Requirement | 4 AAC 06.710(3) Statewide student assessment system |
|---|---|
| Content Area Being Assessed | Content varies for National Assessment years but most commonly math and reading. |
| Students | Sample of students across Alaska in grades 4, 8 and sometimes 12. |
| Estimated Student Test Time | Varies depending on content and specific assessment. |
| Test Window | 2021 should return to one testing window for state year. |
| Results | Varies depending on the assessment. Results are usually published 8-12 months after assessment. |
For more information, please visit the NAEP webpage.
Alaska Developmental Profile (ADP)
To identify, record, and summarize the skills and behaviors students demonstrate upon entry to school, based on teacher observations.
Student skills and behaviors are defined by whether students are consistently demonstrating 13 goals and indicators in the following five domains from Alaska’s Early Learning Guidelines:
- Physical Well-Being, Health, and Motor Development
- Social and Emotional Development
- Approaches to Learning
- Cognition and General Knowledge
- Communication, Language, and Literacy
| Requirement | 4 AAC 06.712 Developmental profile |
|---|---|
| Content Area Being Assessed | Alaska’s Early Learning Guidelines. See list of domains in introduction. |
| Students | All entering kindergarten students and any first graders for whom an ADP was not completed while in kindergarten. |
| Estimated Student Test Time | N/A |
| Test Window | Results are recorded by teachers September 17 ‐ November 1 each year. Contact your school or district for specific days of observation. |
| Results | Released in March or April each year. Contact your school or district for details. |
For more information, please visit the ADP webpage.