Regional Educational Laboratory Northwest supports Alaska’s Department of Education and Early Development efforts to measure the implementation of literacy initiatives related to the Alaska Reads Act. To achieve this goal, the partnership focuses on evaluating evidence-based reading activities for K–3 students, studying district-level implementation of those activities, administering a survey about district instructional practices, and revising the state literacy plan.
Partnership organization: Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (AK DEED)
Current Projects
For the Alaska Literacy Strategic Plan Partnership, REL Northwest is conducting a study to understand how schools in Kenai Peninsula Borough Public School District use universal screener data to make decisions about serving students' illiteracy needs. During the 2023/24 and 2024/25 school years, REL Northwest's evaluation will explore how schools use screener data to assign students to Individual Reading Improvement Plans (IRIPs), student and school characteristics that are predictors of IRIP assignment, and the duration of the IRIP support. Results will inform Kenai's future staffing and professional development needs.
In this 2026 project, REL Northwest provides coaching and training to Alaska’s Department of Education and Early Development (AK DEED) as they develop an updated version of the Alaska Literacy Plan. The project involves review of student literacy achievement data to define Alaska’s current literacy needs, and incorporation of evidence-based literacy practices and recommendations into the state literacy plan. REL Northwest and AK DEED will also develop a continuous improvement plan for the state literacy plan and an action plan for communication of the plan. This work is part of the REL Northwest Alaska Literacy Strategic Reading partnership, which uses evaluation activities to refine and improve district supports for literacy.
Completed Projects
Improving student literacy outcomes is a top priority for Alaska. REL Northwest is assisting the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (AK DEED) in developing an approach for measuring progress toward the goals outlined in its state Strategic Reading Plan. The project aims to develop evaluation questions, identify data sources for measurement, and create short- to mid-term evaluation agendas for selected activities.
REL Northwest assisted staff from the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (AK DEED) in analyzing, displaying, and discussing district survey data about reading curricular materials and assessments and publicly available statewide ELA data (e.g., early childhood data, National Assessment of Educational Progress, and Performance Evaluation for Alaska's School). AK DEED staff used what they learned to engage Alaskan leaders, educators, and parents in discussions about the strengths and areas needing improvement related to reading instruction practices, materials, and/or data-based decision-making.
REL Northwest supports the work of Alaska’s Department of Education & Early Development (AK DEED) and its partners as they measure implementation related to activities in the state’s Strategic Reading Plan, aimed at raising students’ reading proficiency. In this project, REL Northwest provides technical support to AK DEED as it revises its district literacy survey related to implementation of evidence-based literacy strategies.
For the Alaska Literacy Strategic Plan Partnership, REL Northwest supports the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (AK DEED) as they measure implementation and examine outcomes related to activities in the state’s Strategic Reading Plan. In this 2023/24 project, REL Northwest provides training and technical support to AK DEED to examine literacy survey and literacy screener data and to make decisions about how to best support districts with targeted professional development.