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(Rachel Waldholz/KCAW Photo)

Results are in from the first year of the Alaska Measures of Progress (AMP) assessments and students in Sitka did better than expected.

Sitka School District students bested the state average on the assessments, which test educational standards in English and math with more rigor

Districtwide, 42 percent of students met standards in English/Language Arts and 33 percent in math. More than 700 third through tenth-grade students took the tests in the spring. Statewide, 35 percent were proficient in English and 31 percent in math.

While these numbers may seem low, Sitka School District Superintendent Mary Wegner says they were higher than she anticipated.

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“I was impressed with how our students did,” she said. “We typically are just above the state average and that’s basically where we are. I expected to see more of an implementation dip than we saw. Our students did wonderfully well considering everything new.”

Notably, about 50 percent of students in grades three, four and five met standards in English and language arts.

The new Alaska State Standards – which closely follow the Common Core State Standards – went into effect last year. This was the first year students have been tested on the educational guidelines that emphasize more analyzation than memorization.

Wegner says the new scores are not comparable to how kids fared in the past on the state standardized test because the assessment, and what students are being tested on, is different.

“The previous assessment and previous standards were very specific,” Wegner said. “Students will learn how to multiply with three-digit numbers. And the new standards really look more at application, yes students need to do the math computation but they need to think in terms of mathematical concepts. That’s a hard thing to measure on a fixed-form assessment whether that be paper or pencil or online.”

The AMP test is being phased in over the course of four stages. Wegner says students will eventually be asked to perform tasks on the tests rather than simply filling in multiple-choice answer bubbles. Eventually, she says, the assessments will be more diagnostic.

“The results that we’re seeing are the new baseline—teachers are still learning the new standards, students are still learning what the new standards are,” she said. “We’ll continue to see growth. As the test evolves itself, we’ll have more accurate information about a student’s skill level.”

Wegner says the district will breakdown and share full AMP results with the school board at its meeting Dec. 1.