October 25, 2008
Saturday

As Alaska takes initial steps to develop a statewide plan for education from preschool to post-secondary, the state wants to know what Alaskans think about education and expectations for high school graduates.

Two online surveys have been posted by the Alaska Department of Education & Early Development. The surveys are brief, and respondents will be anonymous.

There is no deadline to complete the surveys. However, results from surveys completed by November 3 will be reported to participants at the upcoming statewide summit on education, "Building Alaska's Future One Student at a Time," which will be held November 13-14 in Anchorage.

Attendance at the summit is by invitation. But every Alaskan can have a voice by completing the surveys.

"It is very important that Alaskans from all walks of life and all regions of our state -- whether they are parents, students, businesspeople, elders, or educators -- contribute their ideas and hopes for education in Alaska by completing the surveys," said Alaska Education Commissioner Larry LeDoux. "Their expertise and perspectives will be valuable to the summit's participants."

The purposes of the summit are to garner consensus for a broadly stated education plan, which will be further refined by working groups after the summit, and to lay out the attributes that Alaskans want high school graduates to have.

Respondents should complete both surveys. The first survey, called "Education Survey," asks respondents to rate their satisfaction with various aspects of their schools, academic standards, public information, the strengths of schools and the challenges they face, and what steps would improve the graduation rate. In addition to the questions, there are opportunities to provide open-ended comments.

The second survey, called "Student Outcomes Survey," asks respondents about the attributes they would like to see our high school graduates possess. Attributes may include knowledge, communication skills, critical thinking, creativity, personal responsibility and citizenship, among others.

The results of the summit will be posted on the department's web site, and the public will have an opportunity to comment online.

On the Web:

Education Survey
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=m16UL9dK_2faQyi_2bV5AjY_2fdQ_3d_3d

Student Outcomes Survey
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=m4quHy_2fM_2f4cBswsRkUu2xQ_3d_3d

Source of News:

Alaska Department of Education & Early Development
http://www.eed.state.ak.us

 

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