(SitNews) Ketchikan, Alaska - Statewide, district, school, and subgroup level results from the Performance Evaluation for Alaska’s Schools (PEAKS) assessment are now available online. The assessment provides information to parents, educators, policy makers, communities, and businesses about how Alaska’s schools and districts are performing. School districts have until September 29 to distribute student-level reports to parents and teachers.

PEAKS is Alaska’s new statewide summative assessment, and was first administered to students in grades three to ten in spring 2017. In spring 2017, approximately 70,600 students participated in the first administration of PEAKS. Nearly three quarters of all students taking the assessment took the computer-based version.

PEAKS is not a pass/fail assessment. Students score on a scale that is divided into four levels of achievement: advanced, proficient, below proficient, and far below proficient.

Statewide, results varied from grade to grade. In English language arts, approximately 32 percent to 45 percent of students statewide were proficient on the assessment. In mathematics, approximately 15 percent to 45 percent of students statewide were proficient on the assessment. In Ketchikan, results also varied from school to school and grade to grade. Full reports for all Ketchikan schools are available on links provided below.

“We must be dissatisfied with these results, and yet, we have even more opportunity now than ever before to support student learning,” said Alaska Education Commissioner Dr. Michael Johnson. “Many schools are already implementing positive changes that will provide students more opportunity to increase their learning.”

Results released earlier this month by the Alaska Department of Education form a new baseline from which to measure growth in achievement in English language arts and mathematics. Results from PEAKS are not comparable to Alaska’s former assessments because the scale used to provide scores and achievement levels to students is very different than scales used on previous assessments.

PEAKS is not a high-stakes assessment for students. Results do not affect classroom grades, grade advancement, or graduation. The statewide assessment is just one important piece of a balanced assessment system.

Alaska educators have been involved in determining student performance criteria on the PEAKS assessment. A group of 35 Alaska educators gathered in April to decide how much students should know and be able to do at each achievement level. In early June, 84 Alaska educators gathered to determine the range of scores for each of the four achievement levels.

Ketchikan Gateway Borough School District Results

Ketchikan High School Results - Click here for results

Revilla Jr/Sr High School - Click here for results

Schoenbar Middle School - Click here for results

Fawn Mountain Elementary School - Click here for results

Houghtaling Elementary - Click here for results

Point Higgins Elementary - Click here for results

Tongass School of Arts & Sciences Charter School - Click here for results

Fast Track - Click here for results

On the Web:

All Statewide 2017 PEAKS assessment results are available at https://education.alaska.gov/TLS/Assessments/Results/results2017.html

Resources to help the public understand PEAKS are available at https://education.alaska.gov/tls/Assessments/PEAKS.html

 

Editing by Mary Kauffman, SitNews

Source of News:

Alaska Department of Education
www.education.alaska.gov

 

Representations of fact and opinions in comments posted are solely those of the individual posters and do not represent the opinions of Sitnews.

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Ketchikan, Alaska

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