In preparing for his first joint work session between the school board and borough assembly, Schools Superintendent Joshua Garrett was encouraged to share something positive about the district he joined last summer. He knew just what to say.

“According to the Alaska System of Academic Readiness (AK STAR) test, Wrangell is No. 1 in the state for math and No. 6 in the state for reading,” Garrett said. “I’m thrilled by this for multiple reasons.”

During a March 5 interview, Garrett explained the significance of the 2025 test results and what they say about the district and its students.

The state’s annual AK STAR test, which started in 2022, measures student understanding of English language arts and mathematics standards, and gauges school performance. The tests are given to students in third through ninth grades and are computer-based and adaptive, meaning questions change in difficulty based on the responses.

Results typically include four performance levels: advanced, proficient, approaching proficient and needs support.

“I think this is something that everybody needs to know about,” Garrett said. “With everything the borough is doing to improve the local economy, academic performance is something that families look at before making the decision to relocate. So these test results can be helpful in multiple ways.”

Wrangell students scored 59.86% advanced/proficient in math and 46.48% advanced/proficient in English, several percentage points better than the 2024 scores.

The statewide percentages for 2025 testing were 32% in math and 33% in English, with multiple districts falling below those numbers.

The school board and assembly met on March 5 to discuss school funding, in preparation for the 2026-2027 budget.

Garrett said he is “thrilled” with the outstanding academic performance of district students and is equally excited because of the implications regarding classroom instruction.

“These results prove that our teachers know who their students are and are meeting their needs proficiently,” he said. “Our teachers are constantly figuring out what works best for their students. I can’t say enough good things about them. These teachers are phenomenal.”

The AK STAR test is typically administered at some point during the month of April and Garrett said he is excited to see how this year’s results will rank.

“I think that it’s equally exciting to look at the older students within that age group and to realize that they likely stayed ahead of the damage that was done during the COVID-19 era,” he said.

“Nationwide, schools saw a significant dip in performance because there was much less classroom instruction and a lot of school was missed. Wrangell really seems to come out of that much better than other school districts.”

According to AK STAR proficiency data, Petersburg was ranked in last year’s testing behind Wrangell in math, but rated slightly higher in proficiency for reading.

According to the Alaska Department of Education, Wrangell is officially recognized by the state as having universal support status — the highest tier of success, meaning it doesn’t require state-mandated intervention.

“Being No. 1 in math is exciting and worth talking about, but there are still things that can be improved,” Garrett said. “Reading and math are two skills that improve with practice, and I would really like to see students utilizing opportunities to increase those skills outside of school.

“But it shows that we’re ahead of a lot of districts in the state and it encourages us to strive to climb even higher.”