School progress reports in new Alaska System for School Success

October 23, 2018: The new System for School Success Reports accountability system for public schools in the State of Alaska released reports for the 2017-2018 school year. The rating system for schools is a federal requirement of Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), and the new accountability system replaces the Alaska State Performance Index (ASPI) star rating classification.

Superintendent Sean Dusek explains: “The State of Alaska has rolled out the results of our new school accountability system. The majority of our schools are doing very well and while every school is working hard to improve, we have some schools that will develop plans to address specific areas identified through their designation. I appreciate the efforts of our staff in ensuring high student academic achievement and the attitude of continuous improvement.  We look forward to next year’s results as we expect even more student learning growth.”

The new accountability system ranks schools on a 100-point scale, based on student growth and proficiency in state assessments, chronic absenteeism, high school graduation, and student growth in learning English for students identified as English Language Learners (ELL). Based on the 100-point scale, schools receive an index score every year.
DEED School Systems for Success
The new system does not focus exclusively on a test score, and includes additional indicators for student success. Five indicators are assessed for K-6 grades, and six are assessed for 7-12 grades. Several rules have been established to protect student privacy and to be fair to all schools.
Indicators for all grade levels K-6 are based on a 100-point scale:

  1. Academic Achievement English Language Arts Proficiency and Math Proficiency: 15% each (30%)
  2. Academic Growth in English Language Arts and Math: 20% each (40%)
  3. English Learner Progress: 15%
  4. Chronic Absenteeism: 10%
  5. Grade 3 English Language Proficiency: 5%

Indicators for grade levels 7-12 are based on a 100-point scale:

  1. Academic Achievement ELA and Math: 10% each (20%)
  2. Academic Growth ELA and Math: 20% each (40%)
  3. English Learner Progress: 10%
  4. Chronic Absenteeism: 10%
  5. 4-year Graduation Rate: 15%
  6. 5-year Graduation Rate: 5%

Meeting these indicators is in alignment with the KPBSD five-year strategic plan.
The indicator index applies to the student body as a whole and to subgroups that have at least five students. The subgroups are: students with disabilities, English language learners, economically disadvantaged students, Alaska Natives and American Indians, Caucasians, African-Americans, Hispanics, Mixed Race, and Asian/Pacific Islanders.

Alaska Education Commissioner Dr. Michael Johnson explains, “There are three types of school designations: Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI), Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI), and Universal Support. The primary purpose of these school designations is to provide information for families, tribes, communities, educators, and policy makers to plan and support an equitable education for each student in Alaska’s public school system.”

In the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, two schools are designated CSI, two schools are designated TSI, one school is pending, and 38 schools receive the Universal Support designation. The 2017-2018 results can be viewed online.
Parents will continue to receive reports on their student’s performance on state English Language Arts and Math assessments. Questions about specific school accountability reports can be asked directly to school principals.
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