The Alaska Department of Education is in search of a new company that will provide an assessment for students, grades 3 through 10, for upcoming testing this spring.
Pegge Erkeneff, Communications Specialist with the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District…
Erkeneff: “At this point, we’re waiting for direction from the state and the state is going to be conducting a thorough process to choose the best available option for all districts and choose a vendor for an assessment that will be given to all Alaska students and so our school district will be doing the same assessment as all the other school districts in the state and that process is in place right now, on a state level, to find a new vendor for a test.”
This past January, Former Department of Education Commissioner Mike Hanley threw out the AMP test after results and data were not up to par. KPBSD is still awaiting the determination from the state on the matter and has remained active in the decision making process.
Erkeneff: “The district has been asked to offer input of what would be really important to our district in a future assessment and so every opportunity that we’ve been asked to provide feedback to the state, we have done so, and we are hoping that they’ll be choosing a good assessment and have that done in a timely manner so that we can have that in place.”
The deadline for vendors is September 6 to respond to requests from the state. Each assessment must include or be able to show how well students meet state standards and provide results for improvements within the school system.
