Most students in Alaska are falling behind in math, science and language arts, the latest statewide ratings show

The majority of Alaska students scored below grade level on math, science and language arts assessments taken last spring — even after the state lowered the standard for what counts as proficiency.

The latest results from the Alaska Academic Readiness System, known as AK STAR, were released Wednesday by the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development.

The results showed slight improvements in student achievement from the previous year, although an administrator cautioned that the latest results did not allow for an apples-to-apples comparison with earlier results because proficiency measures had been downgraded.

The spring 2023 results, released Wednesday, “are not comparable to 2022 results,” DEED assessment administrator Elizabeth Greninger wrote in an email. “This is due to the changes to the achievement levels (reduced scores) for the English language arts and mathematics assessments adopted by the State Board in January 2024.”

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Both The Alaska Science Assessment and AK STAR were distributed to most public students in Alaska, from elementary through middle school. The AK STAR rating was new last year.

Here is how the students presented themselves:

• 68% of Alaska students tested are not proficient in English.

• 68% of the students tested were not good at math.

• 63% of the tested students did not master natural sciences.

• 73% of third graders are not proficient in English and 73% of ninth graders are not proficient in math.

• Less than a fifth of absentees participated in the assessment.

• In Anchorage, 36% of students were proficient in English and 37% were proficient in math.

A spokesperson for the Anchorage School District said the district declined to comment on the results. A DEED spokesman did not respond to requests for comment.

In January, the Alaska Board of Education approved lowering the standards for what counts as proficient, citing the fact that Alaska has set the bar unusually high compared to other states.

The change includes an adjustment to cut scores, which are standardized test scores that indicate whether a student performed above or below grade level. Alaska’s proficiency standards have long been among the highest in the nation and are still in the top third even after the change, Education Commissioner Deanna Bishop told the state board at the time.

The change drew some backlash from educators, who said lowering the bar for student performance was not the answer to improving results.

But despite the change, the latest results in most categories mirror exactly the previous year.

In 2022, 70% of students were not proficient in English language arts; 77% were not competent in mathematics; and 62% were not experienced in science.

Last year, education advocates attributed a partial drop in scores to learning disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has left many students behind. Student performance on standardized tests in Alaska, however, was low before the pandemic: In 2018, half of students taking statewide assessments did not meet grade-level standards.

Alaska students’ performance on standardized tests has become a highly politicized topic in Alaska this legislative session as lawmakers try to push through a sweeping education reform bill after years of mostly flat education funding.

Some Republican lawmakers have pointed to lagging student performance as an indication that public schools must be reformed as a condition of receiving additional funding. Education advocates said the results were the result of insufficient funding.

As part of that debate, Gov. Mike Dunleavy pointed to a national study showing Alaska charter school students far outperform their peers in other public schools in Alaska and across the country, which the governor said is evidence the state needs to expand its charter school offerings . That study relied on a standardized test and caught the attention of lawmakers and education advocates.

Meanwhile, some rural educators say standardized tests aren’t the only or best measure of student performance, and that schools outside the tuition system often struggle with poor Internet connections that interrupt testing.

In an email, Anchorage School Board member Kelly Lessens cautioned against relying too heavily on standardized test scores as a measure of student achievement without considering additional context.

“We know that student achievement (proficiency) is highly correlated with poverty (economic status) in ASD and around Alaska,” she wrote. “We also know that absenteeism rates were extremely high in Alaska last year and that (class sizes) are growing.”

Lessens said the Anchorage board will likely discuss the results in depth as a way to set reading goals for the district.

The change in reduced scores has led to a delay in the results, which are usually released in the fall, this year, the state education department said.

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