Alaska students’ test scores improved modestly last school year, according to results released Friday by the Department of Education and Early Development . But the gains were small — only about a third of students across the state are testing at grade level in English, math and science.

The test scores come as policymakers debate ways to improve the state’s struggling schools.

“We did have a few grade levels that showed some promising movement, especially in the area of reading in elementary school and then again in eighth grade, in reading and math,” state Education Commissioner Deena Bishop said in an interview. “But overall, if we took all grade levels, generally, we were pretty flat.”

Bishop said hopes to see improvement in reading scores in the next several years, since early da

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