This overview of the Alaska system for test development, scoring, and reporting explored differences and similarities between norm-referenced and standards-based tests. The current Alaska testing program is based on legislation passed in 1997 and 1998, and is designed to meet the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Legislation. In…

This report card contains information on the status of public education in Alaska. Data are organized around the four key elements of the Alaska Quality Schools Initiative: (1) high standards and assessments; (2) quality professional standards; (3) family, school, business, and community networks; and (4) school excellence standards. A statewide…

This paper discusses the development of the Anchorage Kindergarten Developmental Profile in the context of the Alaska Kindergarten Developmental Profile and presents some evaluation results from studies of the Anchorage measure. Alaska mandated the completion of an Alaska Developmental Profile (ADP) on each kindergarten student and each student…

This handbook is designed to serve as a resource for Alaskan district-level administrators in charge of planning, implementing and monitoring districtwide student assessment programs. The information is divided into 10 chapters, including: (1) aligning assessment with curriculum and instruction; (2) planning an assessment program; (3)…

In the year 2000, the Alaska High School Graduation Qualifying Examination (HSGQE) was given for the first time. The HSGQE is currently scheduled to be a graduation requirement for all students graduating as of January 2002, but early results from the use of the HSGQE in the Anchorage school district raise serious questions about the use of the…

This publication provides guidance for making decisions about the participation in regular assessments of individual students in Alaska with disabilities and with limited English proficiency. It also provides guidance for deciding if a student requires a testing accommodation or an alternate assessment. The regular assessments included…

The results of the 1977 and 1979 Statewide Assessment Tests in Alaska are presented. This assessment testing is part of the testing component within the Alaska Statewide Instructional Support System (SISS), and is based on specific objectives critical to a student's academic success. Objectives covered are: mathematics computation, mathematics…

Key findings of a pilot study of the Alaska Instructional Diagnostic System (AIDS) are summarized. The AIDS pilot test served to verify the appropriateness of the skills survey as well as the validity and reliability of the items. The AIDS testing system includes three components: (1) upper level skills surveys (grades 3-8); (2) lower level skill…

The Council of Chief State School Officers has raised some issues pertinent to the implementation of a national project to collect statistical indicators of academic achievement and to compare them across states. The United States Department of Education shares this concern, with an emphasis on sampling schools for a school level analysis which…

Nearly 15,000 students were administered the Alaska Statewide Assessment Test--virtually all fourth and eighth grade students. Preliminary results indicated that eighth graders made substantial improvements in both reading and mathematics performance. Fourth grade scores were basically unchanged since 1983. There was also little change between…

The Alaska Benchmarks Examinations measure student achievement in reading, writing, and mathematics at grades 3, 6, and 8. This booklet answers some of the most frequently asked questions about these examinations and presents some sample questions. The Benchmark Examinations are part of a statewide school reform effort known as the Quality Schools…

Alaskan students' scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) increased nine points between 1984 and 1985, matching the national gain. These scores marked the fourth year of increases following 17 years of consistently declining scores. Thirty-three percent of Alaska's high school seniors took the SAT in 1985. The combined score of 923 was 17…

Diverse information is compiled to begin to address the question of how well students in Alaska are achieving. In 1987, each of the 55 districts in Alaska submitted results of its standardized testing program for Reading, Reading Comprehension, Mathematics, Mathematics Problem Solving, and Language Arts for the three school years from 1984-85…

In 1985, reading and mathematics achievement tests were administered to nearly 15,000 fourth and eighth graders in Alaska. Educators comprising the Interpretive Panel developed a minimum and a desired level of performance. Scores below the minimum indicated a weakness; scores above it, a strength, and scores between, satisfactory achievement. The…

This brochure provides educators, statisticians, the press, the public, and other interested parties with selected facts and figures about education in Alaska. Brief tables give: (1) general district and school information for Alaska's 54 public school districts and its private schools; (2) student information, including enrollment and graduates…