MSBSD Superintendent discusses 2022-2023 AK STAR State Assessment results

The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) announced the release of the 2022-2023 Alaska System of Academic Readiness (AK STAR) and Alaska Science assessment results on April 17.

Districts will utilize the statewide assessments in English language arts, math, and science provide information about how schools within the districts are performing.

The Matanuska Susitna Borough School District (MSBSD) Superintendent Dr. Randy Trani is pleased with the results.

“We’re happy.”

MSBSD fared far above the state in every category, and scored above the other four largest districts in the state, including Anchorage, Juneau, Kenai and Fairbanks, referred to as the ‘Big 5’ school districts in Alaska.

MSBSD showed a 15.62% increase in the “Proficient or Above” category in math from 2022 to 2023, far above the state of Alaska, which averaged a 9.64% increase in the same category.

The district also showed a 4.27% increase in the “Proficient or Above” in reading over the same time period, while the state reported only a.36% increase.

Conversely, the percentages of students who fall into the “Need Support” category was the lowest among the ‘Big 5’ school districts, averaging 35% in both reading and math, which is still better than the state average, which is 44.46%

“We’re the only district of the ‘big five’ where we have more kids that are proficient than need support. Nobody else is there yet.”

Dr. Trani believes this is happening for the MSBSD because of the changes being made in the math and reading curriculums.

“We changed math first, and the results show that math is further ahead than ELA (English and Language Arts). We’re very excited about this year’s results because we’re making all these changes, so hopefully we will see those results in August or September.”

Dr. Trani said the results were overdue to the districts, which were due earlier in the school year, frustrating him that the data is nearly useless now, especially as students are currently taking this year’s AK STAR assessment.

“It’s history now, when you want to have the data in hand in time to change something. It’s impossible to change now that the year’s nearly done.”

Indeed, as districts are currently administering the 2023-2024 AK STAR and Alaska Science assessments, DEED anticipates maintaining a regular reporting schedule moving forward, with scores scheduled for an early fall release. According to their website, DEED expects that by the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year, and that districts will have access to two years of student performance data, which would enable them to establish performance targets, identify areas of strength for reinforcement, and pinpoint areas of growth requiring additional support and resources.

Dr. Trani also says that this year’s AK STAR was different than previously administered tests, with the AK STAR being adopted in 2023, and the results set a new baseline for evaluating student performance in the coming years.

“It has different cut scores. They’re trying to put both norm-referenced and criterion-referenced in the same test.”

For context, a norm-referenced test compares the test-taker's score to a representative group, or norming group, and reports where the tester falls in relationship to other testers. Meanwhile, the criterion-referenced test compares a tester's score to an objective standard or criteria.

DEED initiated a multi-year approach to formulate and assess AK STAR, which included the development of Achievement Level Descriptors and a standard-setting process in 2022, followed by a validation study and policy review in 2023. This thorough process ensures that the achievement levels accurately reflect student performance and effectively inform schools, teachers, families, and students about their progress toward mastering the Alaska Content Standards.

DEED also noted a slight increase in participation rates across all student groups from the 2021-2022 to the 2022-2023 assessment administrations.

In the MSBSD, student participation in the AK STAR decreases as students move into higher grades. Dr. Trani points to data that shows nearly 99% of elementary students participating, and the numbers dropping slightly in the middle schools, with an average participation rate of 94%. High schools, however, show a drop into the 80% participation.

“The participation rate for our entire district was 76.68%. So, almost a quarter of our kids aren’t taking the tests. We’re supposed to be accountable, but then we have this thing where anybody can opt out that wants to. How do we know how we’re doing if everybody can opt out of the test?”

Dr. Trani voiced concern that homeschool programs show the least amount of participation, with Mat-Su Central, by far the biggest school in the district, with only 25% of the students participating, something he correlates with low graduation rates.

“75% of the kids don’t take it. It’s our largest school, but how are they doing? I don’t know how they’re doing. I do know they have the lowest graduation rate by far, and they don’t take the state assessments.” He also sites other correspondence schools in the Mat-Su Borough that have low participation numbers.

“It’s not that our homeschool kids are being any different, it’s that homeschools across the state, 22,000 kids, they aren’t taking any assessments. So we have this very antithetical accountability. Homeschool choice and no one has to take the accountability measure. It doesn’t square.” He thinks it could be easily fixed with new legislation, as the state did with the AK Reads Act.

“Everybody, whether you’re a homeschooler or not, is taking the AK Reads Act by third grade. They’re all doing it.”

Encouraging districts to continue their engagement with parents and families regarding the new AK STAR and Alaska Science Assessments, DEED emphasizes the importance of explaining how this information contributes to improving outcomes for students.

For more information, and to view the AK STAR results, please visit www.education.alaska.gov/assessment-results/District/