Assessments - Juneau School District

Alternate Assessment: Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM)

2 years ago

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

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Alaska Developmental Profile

a year ago

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

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College or Career Readiness Assessment

4 years ago

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.

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Acadience Reading

4 years ago

The Juneau School District administers the Acadience Reading assessment (formerly known as the DIBELS Next assessment) three times a year to all students in grades K-3. It is an assessment used to measure the acquisition of early literacy skills from kindergarten through sixth grade.

Taken from the Acadience Learning website:

Acadience Reading is a universal screening and progress monitoring assessment that measures the acquisition of early literacy skills from kindergarten through sixth grade. The assessment is comprised of six brief measures that function as indicators of the essential skills that every child must master to become a proficient reader. These measures are used to regularly monitor the development of early literacy skills in order to provide timely instructional support and prevent the occurrence of later reading difficulties.

By design, the Acadience Reading measures are brief, powerful indicators of foundational early literacy skills that:

are quick and efficient to administer and score;
serve as universal screening (or benchmark assessment) and progress monitoring measures;
identify students in need of intervention support;
evaluate the effectiveness of interventions; and
support the RTI/Mulit-tiered model.

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English Language Proficiency (ELP)

4 years ago

English Language Proficiency (ELP) Assessment

Students in grades Kindergarten through 12 who have been formally identified as English learners (EL) must be assessed annually to monitor their progress in acquiring academic English. Alaska’s secure large-scale English language proficiency (ELP) assessment is based on the WIDA* English Language Proficiency Standards, 2007. The assessment is called WIDA ACCESS for ELLs 2.0. It is a tool used to assess the proficiency levels of EL students’ receptive and productive skills in English in the areas of listening, speaking, reading and writing. The English language proficiency assessment focuses on the progress and proficiency levels of academic language rather than content area knowledge and skills, therefore, some accommodations that might be appropriate for the classroom or content areas tests should not be used with the ELP assessment as they will invalidate the test. Assessment administration information is available on the World-class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) website. Additional information is available on the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development website.

Alternate English Language Proficiency (ELP) Assessment

The Alternate ELP assessment is an assessment of English language proficiency (ELP) for students in grades 1 -12 who are formally identified as English learners (EL) and have significant cognitive disabilities that prevent their meaningful participation in the regular English language proficiency assessment. The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB; 2001) requires that all students identified as EL be assessed annually for English language proficiency, including students who receive special education services. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA; 2004) also mandates that students with disabilities participate in state-wide and district-wide assessment programs, including alternate assessments with appropriate accommodations, when it is documented in their Individualized Education Programs (IEP).

Each test form in the Alternate ELP test assesses the four language domains of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Test forms are divided into the following grade-level clusters: 1 – 2, 3 – 5, 6 – 8 and 9 – 12.

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

Resources:

• Parent/Guardian Handout for ACCESS for ELLs 2.0
• Parent/Guardian Handout for Alternate ACCESS for ELLs
• Parent Guide for ACCESS for ELLS 2.0 Score Reports
• Parent Guide for Alternate ACCESS for ELLs Score Reports
• Interpretive Guide for WIDA ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 Score Reports
• Estimated Student Testing Times

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Measuring Academic Progress (MAP)

4 years ago

The Juneau School District administers the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) in Reading, Language Usage, and Mathematics to students in grades K-10 three times a year.

MAP tests are adaptive, meaning they dynamically adjust to each student's performance. As a student answers a test question on a computer, the program immediately analyzes the student's response, and based on how well the student has answered previous questions, selects a question of appropriate difficulty to display next.

MAP are interim assessments that measure growth, project proficiency on high-stakes tests, and inform how educators differentiate instruction, evaluate programs, and structure curriculum.

MAP assessments are grade independent and adapt to each student's instructional level. Every item on a MAP assessment is anchored to a vertically aligned equal interval scale, called the RIT scale for Rasch UnIT — a stable measurement, like inches on a ruler, that covers all grades.

And because the measurement is reliable and accurate, RIT scores serve as an essential data point in a student's learning plan; educators can see their precise learning level and respond accordingly.

Resources:

Parents Guide to MAP Growth
Parent Toolkit

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National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)

3 years ago

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is a national assessment of a representative sampling of America's students in grades 4 and 8 conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics. Results are only given at the state-level; no school or student results are provided.

NAEP is administered by a federally contracted assessment team that receives extensive training to ensure consistent administration across the nation.

On November 25, 2020 the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Commissioner, with the support of the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB), publicly announced their decision to postpone the NAEP 2021 assessments.

"Challenges such as variable instructional models, health and safety concerns, and restrictions on access to schools are expected to reduce NAEP's ability to validly, reliably, and safely collect and report NAEP data in 2021. The postponement will move mathematics and reading at grades 4 and 8 to 2022," noted the NCES Associate Commissioner.

Additional information regarding the NAEP can be found on the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development website.

Resources:

• NAEP Facts for Districts
• 2019 Report Card Highlight

Updated 12/02/2020

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AK STAR Assessment

7 months ago

The Alaska System of Academic Readiness (AK STAR) is the State's new connected interim and summative assessment administered to all students in grade 3 through 9 annually. The spring of 2022 was the first administration of the assessment. This solution administers MAP® Growth™ in the fall and winter and an end-of-year summative test in the spring, offering coherence across the interim and summative assessments and reducing the number of yearly test events. It is designed to provide parents, educators, policy makers, communities, and businesses with information about student performance and progress in relation to the English/language arts and mathematics standards for Alaska students.

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

Resources:

• Link to Student Readiness Document

•Link to Family Guide to AK STAR Student Reports

• Educator Guide to AK STAR Assessment Reports

• Educator Guide to Alaska Science Assessment Reports

• Estimated Student Test Times

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Alaska Science Assessment

10 months ago

The Alaska Science Assessment is a summative assessment designed to measure a student’s knowledge of the K-12 Science Standards for Alaska, adopted in June 2019. The K-12 Science Standards for Alaska provide a new foundation for defining what students should know and be able to do in terms of scientific knowledge and skills.

The K-12 Science Standards for Alaska support learning and understanding through sense making and investigations associated with scientific phenomena in life science, physical science, earth and space science, and engineering and technology. Crosscutting concepts, an organizational framework for connecting knowledge from the diverse science disciplines into a coherent and scientifically based view of the world, are included in the standards. Science and engineering practices, Alaska Standards for Culturally Responsive Schools, and evidence-based reasoning are also included.

The science assessment is administered to students in grades 5, 8, and 10.

For resources on preparing students to take the science assessment, please view Student Readiness.

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.

Resources:

•Family Guide to Student Reports
•Educator Guide to Assessment Reports
•Estimated Student Test Times

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Alternate Assessment: Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM)

Alaska Developmental Profile

College or Career Readiness Assessment

Acadience Reading

English Language Proficiency (ELP)

Measuring Academic Progress (MAP)

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)

AK STAR Assessment

Alaska Science Assessment

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