All children participate in State accountability assessments. The Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM) provides an instructionally relevant system that supports student learning and measures what students with significant cognitive disabilities know and can do.

Students with significant cognitive disabilities will have access to, participate in, and make progress in the general education curricula in compliance with the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA; 2004) and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESSA) as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015. These students may be precluded from taking regular or substitute course offerings as defined in Alaska Regulation 4 AAC 06.078. Alternate assessments designed for these students offer assessments in the same content at the same grade levels as the general content assessments. If a student meets the eligibility criteria, the IEP team may recommend the Alaska Alternate Assessment. It is expected that only a small number (less than one percent) of all students will be eligible to participate in an alternate assessment.  These students may be awarded a certificate of completion or attendance, based on completion of the IEP goals or attendance, rather than a high school diploma. (See 4 AAC 06.790 for definitions.

The  alternate assessments are based on content standards for English language arts, mathematics, and science called the Alaska Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM) Essential Elements. The Essential Elements are aligned to Alaska's content standards, but reduced in complexity, breadth, and depth. The Essential Elements are located on the DLM website.

The alternate achievement standards are achievement level descriptors that are different from the achievement standards for the general education expectations for students with significant cognitive disabilities.

Parents have the right to make educational decisions for their child, including whether to participate in statewide testing.

Copies of student results are distributed to families in early fall following the spring administration of the assessment. State, district, and school results are available to the public on the Department of Education and Early Development website

Resource:

• Talking to Parents About DLM Score Reports
• Parent Interpretive Guide
• Estimated Student Testing Times

The Alaska Developmental Profile is required by State law to be completed for all students entering Kindergarten or students entering first grade who did not attend a public Kindergarten in Alaska.

The purpose of the Alaska Developmental Profile is to identify, record, and summarize the skills and behaviors students demonstrate at the beginning of their Kindergarten year, based on teacher observations. Student skills and behaviors are defined by goals and indicators in the five domains of Alaska's Early Learning Guidelines: physical well-being, health, and motor development; social and emotional development; approaches to learning; cognition and general knowledge; and communication, language, and literacy. Per Regulation, these ratings must be completed and submitted before November 1 of each school year.

Parents have the right to make educational decisions for their child, including whether to participate in statewide testing

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Governor Dunleavy's subsequent disaster declaration in Alaska, the requirement for districts to complete the Alaska Developmental Profile has been suspended for the 2020-2021 school year

Visit the Department of Education and Early Development website if you would like more information on the Alaska Developmental Profile.

Resource:

• Informational Flier
• State of Alaska Early Learning Guidelines

The Juneau School District provides funding for all students to take a College- or Career-Readiness Assessment (CCRA). The approved career-readiness assessment is Workkeys; the approved college- readiness assessments are the ACT or the SAT. Students choose which assessment best fits their post-secondary path.

The Juneau School District will pay for one administration of one College- or Career-Readiness Assessment (CCRA) per student while the student is in grade 11. High school students may take the assessment during the scheduled school day(s) of administration

The following websites provide parent information for each assessment:

o WorkKeys: http://www.act.org/content/act/en/job-seekers-and-employers.html

o ACT: http://www.myacthub.org

o SAT: https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/get-started/for-parents

The Alaska Performance Scholarship (APS) also requires students to take WorkKeys, the SAT or the ACT to earn an award. The APS has different requirements regarding student scores. Please visit http://aps.alaska.gov for more information on qualifying for the APS.

For more information or questions regarding this new requirement, please contact your high school guidance counselor or principal.