State, district, and school PEAKS results now online
Soldotna, September 1, 2017— The first year results of PEAKS, the online assessment for students in grades three through ten in English language arts and mathematics are now available online. KPBSD students continue to outperform state median scale scores in both English language arts and math.
“PEAKS is one part of the overall picture about how well our students and schools succeed,” said Sean Dusek, superintendent. “KPBSD focuses on continual improvement, creating lifelong learners, and believes the shift toward a greater emphasis on problem solving skills and critical thinking will make a significant, positive difference on all assessments that are implemented in our schools.”
Parents will receive individual student reports with English language arts and math results in mid-September. KPBSD will mail reports from the district office. It is important to remember:
- Student achievement has not declined
- What is expected of students, and measured, is different than in previous years
- These first PEAKS results are setting a new baseline to help educators understand where students stand on their path to success
- PEAKS results are only one data point. Multiple factors demonstrate student success and drive district decision making processes
A September 1, 2017, Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) press release states, “Alaska educators have been involved in determining student performance criteria on the PEAKS assessment. A group of 35 Alaska educators gathered in April to decide how much students should know and be able to do at each achievement level. In early June, 84 Alaska educators gathered to determine the range of scores for each of the four achievement levels.”
As teachers and students gain more experience in the new and more rigorous standards, PEAKS scores will rise. This has been true for other states which adopt higher standards.
- PEAKS is not a pass-fail test
- PEAKS scores do not affect course grades, graduation, or grade retention, but students will receive focused support to improve
- PEAKS, the AMP test and the SBAs are not comparable because they measure different standards, have different questions, and use different scoring
- Fewer students meet the new standards than used to meet the old standards; the new standards focus on higher order thinking skills and problem solving
Links
- 2017 PEAKS KPBSD summary English Language Arts
- 2017 PEAKS KPBSD summary Mathematics
- 2017 PEAKS KPBSD summary Science
- PEAKS assessment results for schools, districts, states: https://education.alaska.gov/tls/Assessments/Results/results2017.html
- Resources to understand PEAKS from the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, http://education.alaska.gov/tls/Assessments/PEAKS.html
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