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AK STAR Testing

"Parents have the right to make educational decisions for their child, including whether to participate in statewide testing.  Please check with your school principal for more informtion"

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Dear Parent or Guardian,

The Alaska Dept. of Education and Early Development (DEED) recently announced a new approach to statewide assessments that better reflects learning throughout the school year, and helps educators target instruction to students' needs. The new Alaska Innovative Assessment System will: 

  • Streamline testing and maximize efficiency, providing a more seamless experience between interim and summative assessments. 
  • Increases coherence across interim and end-of-year summative tests so educators can drive students toward consistent, challenging learning targets. 
  • Help amplify student learning by giving educators, students, and families meaningful insights on student strengths and areas to support students in reaching their highest academic potential. 
  • Increase opportunity for students and schools to show growth. 

The Alaska System of Academic Readiness (AK STAR) is the new state summative assessment. It is replacing the Performance Evaluation for Alaska's Schools (PEAKS) for the English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics assessments starting in the spring of 2022. This assessment is administered to students in grades 3-9, and assesses their understanding of the Alaska ELA and Mathematics Standards adopted in 2012. Additionally, the Alaska Science Assessment is administered to students in grades 5, 8, and 10, and assesses students’ understanding of the Alaska Science Standards adopted in 2019. 

The testing schedule for AK STAR and AK Science Assessments is: 

April 12th - 15th for 3rd grade students (AK STAR) 

April 14th for 5th and 8th grade students (AK Science) 

April 19th - 22nd for 4th - 8th grade students (AK STAR) 

April 26th - 29th for make-up testing. 

Please check the school website for more details, or contact the school’s office. 

No electronic devices, besides those used for testing, will be allowed in the testing environment. This includes, but is not limited to, cell phones, laptops, iPads, e-readers, smart watches, fitness trackers, etc. Please be mindful of this and ask your child to leave personal electronic devices at home on the days they are scheduled to test. If an electronic device is medically necessary, contact the principal to discuss this. 

Parents have the right to make educational decisions for their child, including whether to participate in statewide testing. You can find an informative document from DEED titled “Why Should my Child Take the State Assessment” as well as practice tests, tutorial videos, and additional information on the district website at www.k12northstar.org/Page/10976. 

If you have any questions about the upcoming assessments, please contact your school or call the Department of Teaching and Learning at 452-2000 ext. 11422.