AK STAR and Alaska Science Assessment

Student Readiness

The State of Alaska Department of Education's (DEED) AK STAR and Alaska Science Assessment Student Preparation pages provide families and educators with resources to support students in preparing for spring testing.  All links are external and connect to the State of Alaska website.  The following Quick Sheet provides a one-stop shop of links to Practice Tests, Tutorials and all resources found under each assessment platform below:

• Quick Sheet: AK STAR and Alaska Science Assessment Student Readiness, Practice Test and Assessment Design Resources

AK STAR

• AK STAR Student Readiness Resources - DEED

  • AK STAR Student Tutorial: a web-based video that walks through test-taking tools and the student testing experience

  • AK STAR Practice Tests: one practice test for each grade and content area; also includes accommodated items for Text-to-Speech and American Sign Language - Answer Keys located in the Educator Guide

  • AK STAR Educator Guide to Student Readiness: contains directions for accessing both the student tutorial and the practice tests, item types for AK STAR, and Answer Keys for all grades (3-9) and content areas (ELA and mathematics)

• The Practice Tests provide opportunities to use the embedded Universal Tools and embedded accommodations.  Remember that AK STAR is ELA and math; Alaska Science Assessment is science. They are separate platforms.

  • Text-to-Speech practice on both AK STAR - ELA/math and the Alaska Science Assessment

  • ASL videos on AK STAR

  • Universal Tools - magnification, color overlay, line guide, highlighter, and more

  • Calculator is a Universal Tool outlined in the Alaska Statewide Summative Assessment Calculator Policy

Alaska Science Assessment

• Alaska Science Assessment Student Preparation Resources - DEED

  • Online Tools Training (OTT), aka Practice Tests

    • Online Tools Training (OTT) – only available via Google Chrome: one practice test for each grade (5, 8 and 10); also includes accommodated items for Text-to-Speech - Answer Keys located in the Educator Guide
      • Grade 5 Summary Table Answer Key (pdf)
      • Grade 8 Summary Table Answer Key (pdf)
      • Grade 10 Summary Table Answer Key (pdf)
    • DEED Quick Guide: Accessing Online Tools Training (OTT)

  • Student Tutorials

    • Student Tutorials
    • DEED Quick Guide: Accessing Student Tutorials