The reported proficiency rate for Science is 13%.
Original Research by School Decision on Zackar Levi Elementary
Zackar Levi Elementary sits in Lower Kalskag, a small predominantly Alaska Native village on the north bank of the Kuskokwim River in western Alaska. The school serves grades three through five and is part of the Kuspuk School District. Every enrolled student is Alaska Native, and every student qualifies for free or reduced-price meals. The enrollment is small, as one would expect for a village school serving three grade levels in a community of this size.
Lower Kalskag is a place where daily life is shaped by geography and season. The community is not connected to a road network. People reach it by small plane, by boat in summer, or by winter river ice road. A state-maintained gravel road links Lower Kalskag to the neighboring village of Upper Kalskag. The economy is primarily subsistence-based, with residents relying on salmon, moose, black bear, porcupine, and waterfowl, along with some commercial fishing. The village has a Russian Orthodox heritage, and the sale and importation of alcohol are banned. Civic life centers on the school, the clinic, the post office, and the church, all situated within the small village footprint. Publicly reported sources note that the community has been identified as disadvantaged and that its population has been declining in recent years. No library is listed among the community's facilities.
State assessment data for the school is limited. In math, the proficiency rate was reported only within a very low range, and the tested count was suppressed. In English language arts, the proficiency rate was suppressed entirely, though participation was high. Science results, which at this grade band come from the single tested grade, showed a low proficiency rate with only a small group of students tested and participation below the other two subjects. Average scale scores were not available for any subject. No multi-year trend data was available, so it is not possible to say from the provided data whether these results represent a pattern or a single-year snapshot.
A parent reading these results may want to look into this further with the school. The combination of suppressed and very low proficiency figures, alongside the tiny number of students tested, makes it difficult to draw firm conclusions. In a school this small, a single student's result can shift the picture substantially, and suppression rules exist to protect student privacy in exactly these circumstances. The data tells you what was reported; it does not give you a full portrait of classroom life.
Several categories of information were not available. No data on individualized education programs or English learner status was provided. No staffing, attendance, discipline, or course-access information was included. No program offerings were listed. No housing values or rental data was available for the community, which is consistent with a remote village where the conventional real estate market does not function the way it does in larger towns. No graduation rate applies here, because the school does not serve high school grades. No comparison fact-set was available to position the school against others in its region. We looked for parent-relevant changes in the Kuspuk School District, such as curriculum shifts, budget actions, or referenda, but found none reported in available sources.
What the data does convey clearly is the setting. Zackar Levi Elementary is a village school in a community where the school is one of a handful of civic institutions and where subsistence activity, distance, and seasonal access define the rhythm of life. For a family connected to this place, the school is a neighborhood institution in the most literal sense, serving a student body that is entirely Alaska Native and living in a community working through the challenges and strengths that come with remote rural life in western Alaska.
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