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
Alaska Developmental Profile
2 years 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
College or Career Readiness Assessment
2 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.
DIBELS 8th Edition
2 years ago
The Juneau School District administers Amplify's mCLASS® DIBELS 8th Edition assessment three times a year to all students in grades K-5. The Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) consists of a set of measures for assessing reading skills. This is the statewide early literacy screener for grades K-3. This assessment helps determine how students are performing on important reading skills providing the opportunity to provide specific support so that all students will be able to read at grade level by the end of third grade.
Statewide screening and support are components of the Alaska Reads Act. If a student exhibits a reading deficiency, an intensive reading intervention service is provided in addition to the core reading instruction that is provided to all students.
Amplify's mCLASS was developed by the University of Oregon's Center on Teaching and Learning. mCLASS has been built on decades of research in curriculum-based measurement science and delivers a proven approach that screens for at-risk students and provides insight into individual student's reading development. The comprehensive assessment system offers progress monitoring, a built-in dyslexia screener, intervention tips, and robust reports for teachers and administrators. The assessment does not diagnose dyslexia but identifies which students need additional evaluation to test for dyslexia.
Parents have the right to make educational decisions for their child, including whether to participate in statewide testing.
Resources:
• Parent Guide
• Estimated Test Times
English Language Proficiency (ELP)
2 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
Measures of Academic Progress (MAP)
2 years ago
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.
Parent Toolkit
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
2 years ago
Updated 12/02/2020 |
AK STAR Assessment
2 months ago
Resources:
• Link to Student Readiness Document
• Educator Guide to AK STAR Assessment Reports
Alaska Science Assessment
2 years ago
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.
Resources:
•Family Guide to Student Reports
•Educator Guide to Assessment Reports
•Estimated Student Test Times
