State Assessments

Assessment serves as a tool to gauge students' knowledge and capabilities. Alaska's assessment system evaluates a student's proficiency in specific areas or subjects in alignment with the state's educational standards. It plays a crucial role in delivering a high-quality education to every student consistently.

Statewide assessments offer a comprehensive view of students' performance across Alaska, providing valuable insights for families, teachers, administrators, and community leaders. The data obtained from assessments guides decisions on policies, curriculum choices, professional development for educators, instructional strategies, and recommendations for parental support.

For more information about Alaska's required statewide assessments, continue reading below or visit the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development's website.

Please contact your school principal for more information on any assessments mandated by the state or district or to opt out of any assessment.

The Alaska System of Academic Readiness is Alaska’s innovative assessment system. The AK STAR System connects MAP Growth interim assessments with the end-of-the-year AK STAR summative assessment for English language arts (ELA) and mathematics.  The AK STAR spring summative assessment’s adaptive design will give each student a unique testing experience that produces both a RIT growth score and a proficiency score.

The AK STAR assessment window for VCS students in grades 3-9 is March 25 thorugh April 26, 2024.

The Alaska Science Assessment is a summative assessment designed to measure a student’s knowledge of the K-12 Science Standards for Alaska, adopted in June 2019.  The K-12 Science Standards for Alaska provide a new foundation for defining what students should know and be able to do in terms of scientific knowledge and skills.

The K-12 Science Standards for Alaska support learning and understanding through sense making and investigations associated with scientific phenomena in life science, physical science, earth and space science, and engineering and technology. Crosscutting concepts, an organizational framework for connecting knowledge from the diverse science disciplines into a coherent and scientifically based view of the world, are included in the standards. Science and engineering practices, Alaska Standards for Culturally Responsive Schools, and evidence-based reasoning are also included.   

The  Alaska Science Assessment window for VCS Students in grades 5, 8, and 10 will be in April 2025.