Tutoring in Alaska
Kolu is software. Nobody from Kolu will drive to your house in Alaska, and we have no office there. If you want a person, this page says how we would look for one. If the question is which skill is missing, we can help with that part.
Alaska's spring test is AK STAR, given in English language arts and math from grade 3 through grade 9. It is linked to the MAP Growth tests students take in fall or winter, so the spring result combines a grade-level test with a growth measure. Science is tested separately, with the Alaska Science Assessment in grades 5, 8 and 10. After ninth grade there is no state test in reading or math, no end-of-course exam, and no SAT or ACT paid for by the state. Students aiming at the Alaska Performance Scholarship qualify through required coursework plus either a grade point average or a score on the ACT, SAT or WorkKeys.
What Alaska tests, and when
| Grade | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading and writing | AK STAR | AK STAR | AK STAR | AK STAR | AK STAR | AK STAR | AK STAR | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested |
| Math | AK STAR | AK STAR | AK STAR | AK STAR | AK STAR | AK STAR | AK STAR | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested |
| Science | Not tested | Not tested | Alaska Science Assessment | Not tested | Not tested | Alaska Science Assessment | Not tested | Alaska Science Assessment | Not tested | Not tested |
- AK STAR (Alaska System of Academic Readiness): reading and writing, math, grades 3 through 9
- Alaska Science Assessment: science, grades 5, 8 and 10
- Main testing window
- late March to the end of April
- Standards
- Alaska English Language Arts and Mathematics Standards and K-12 Science Standards for Alaska
Under the Alaska Reads Act, a third grader who is well below grade level in reading does not move on to fourth grade unless a parent signs a waiver, and the waiver commits the child to 20 hours of summer reading help from the district.
Is there a graduation test in Alaska?
No. Alaska repealed its High School Graduation Qualifying Exam in 2014, and a diploma depends on the credits the state and the local district require.
Kolu finds the missing skill and goes back to it
It starts with a skill check, a short test that gets harder or easier depending on the last answer. The result is a map of the subject broken into skills with their prerequisites drawn in, each one marked as solid, still being learned, or a gap.
After that, each session is a handful of activities picked for that student, usually something due for review, a gap to repair and one new skill. When an answer is wrong, Kolu looks at which earlier skill the mistake points to and goes back to it. Here is what that looks like for a sixth grader who can't divide fractions.
The problem on the page
3/4 ÷ 2/5
Dividing fractions
Grade 6
Multiplying fractions
Grade 5 · rests on the one below
Equivalent fractions
Grade 4 · usually where it started
Multiplication facts
Grade 3
Kolu does not call a skill mastered after one right answer. That takes correct work on different kinds of problems on different days, and a skill that fades gets brought back.
Kolu is not test prep for AK STAR. It has no bank of released questions. It teaches the skills the test draws on, and it will not do tonight's homework.
When to hire a person instead
Some students need a person, and software is the wrong purchase for them. That includes a child who shuts down when the work gets hard, a student with a learning disability who needs someone trained in it, and anyone with an exam in ten days.
Ask the school first. Teachers know who tutors, and a counselor can tell you what the district already offers at no cost. A nearby college is the next place to look, since students there took these courses recently and usually charge less than an agency.
Whoever you hire, ask one question before the first session: how will you find out what my child doesn't know? If the answer is that they will go over the homework, keep looking.
Free for one subject, $15 a month for 5
Kolu is free for one subject at a time, with one full skill check every 30 days and up to 4 sessions a day. Plus is $15 a month, or $120 for a year, and covers 5 subjects at once with unlimited skill checks. A learner under 13 needs a parent or guardian to set up the account.