Fewer than half of Haines students in third through ninth grade are considered “proficient” in math and language arts, according to Alaska System of Academic Readiness scores released by the state earlier this month.
Out of 156 Haines students who were tested last spring, about 57% lacked proficiency in English language arts, and about 63% weren’t proficient in math, according to the test results.
That’s still well below the state averages of 71% non-proficiency in reading and 77% in math.
Haines scored third in the state in reading – behind Skagway and Petersburg – and fifth in math behind Skagway, Petersburg, Sitka and Unalaska, among districts with 10 or more students.
And about 55% of Haines fifth through tenth graders tested as “proficient” in science, compared to 38% statewide, according to the state’s Alaska Science Assessment.
Haines Borough School District superintendent Roy Getchell said the scores “are not what we’d hope for” but he doesn’t think the reading and math scores fully reflect Haines students’ academic abilities. “I think we can do better, and we will do better. This was a baseline year,” he said.
It was the first time students took the Alaska System of Academic Readiness, or AK STAR, test, so state officials advised against comparing the results to previous years.
Alaska Department of Education and Early Development spokesperson Grant Robinson said the range of proficiency changed with the new assessment. If a student was considered proficient based on the old test, called the Performance Evaluation for Alaska’s Schools (PEAKS), they wouldn’t necessarily be considered proficient under the new one.
In 2021— when PEAKS was administered for the last time — 52% of Haines students scored as proficient in reading and 37% were proficient in math.
Getchell said the reading scores were lower this year because it was a new test, not because students are worse at reading. “It’s like changing the metric. It’s still the same distance from here to there. It’s just a different metric,” he said. Some students took four or five hours to finish the test, which Getchell called “highly unusual” compared to past years.
He also said the standards weren’t set until months after the test was taken and that new assessments “always yield lower results initially.”
“Now that we know the target and even though things are still being refined, we have a better idea of where to reach now,” he said.
Getchell added the test is just “one measure” and the school takes a more holistic approach to assessing students. In addition to state tests, Getchell said faculty and administrators also monitor literacy screeners for younger grades, NWEA, PSAT, SAT and ACT scores and graduation rates from year to year.
“I think the Haines community expects a much more broad measure of student performance than one test. That’s what we’ll strive for: creating well-rounded students who can meet their potential,” he said. “When we look at our other measures, those haven’t changed dramatically,” he said. “Overall I wouldn’t say that we’ve seen a decline in student performance.”
According to Alaska Developmental Profile results, about half (48%) of Haines kindergarten students met all 13 of the state’s goals (which range from motor skills to communication), and 62% met 11 of 13 goals.
Even though the AK STAR results suggest a lack of proficiency, Haines scored better than the rest of the state. Across Alaska, 70% of third through ninth graders weren’t proficient in English, while 77% weren’t proficient in math, according to AK STAR results.
“We are in a situation that no state likes to be in,” education department commissioner Heidi Teshner said at a Nov. 10 briefing. “We have far too many students that are not proficient in the subject areas that are not just the foundation of the rest of school, but for the economy and the entire society.”
Across the country, math and reading scores fell during the first two years of the pandemic as covid upended the school system, according to a federal study reported on by national and statewide media outlets.
Skagway students had the highest AK STAR results of any district in Alaska: 70% were proficient in reading and 58% were in math. That compares to 82% and 77%, respectively, last year with the different test.
Next year’s statewide tests will include a reading assessment for kindergarteners, first graders and second graders, according to an Alaska Public Media report.