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"We have not been as successful as we would like to be" in closing the income gap, said Phil Loseby, district assessment and accountability coordinator.

Superintendent Peggy Cowan said there is no simple answer to the gap in test scores between income groups.

"It's complex," she said. "We examine the data and work to adopt programs that address the needs of the subpopulation and the individual student."

In reading, 53 percent of low-income students passed the test compared to 86 percent of those who weren't low income.

The same achievement gap is smaller for younger students, with 58 percent of low-income fourth-graders passing the math portion of the test, compared to 83 percent of the rest of the students passing the same test.

Overall, the district showed growth and improvement this year, Cowan said.

Across the district, 80 percent or more of all students passed the reading portion of the state assessment test, 73 percent or more passed the writing and 68 percent or more passed the math, according to the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development.

"But we are dedicated to continue to improve," she said.

She said the district could not provide a comparison with test scores from previous years until the Juneau School Board's Tuesday meeting, when Loseby will present a full account of test results.

Floyd Dryden Middle School Principal Tom Milliron said the disparity in test scores between income groups is a result of a disconnect between educators and low-income students.

"Public education, in general, tends to be a middle-class institution," Milliron said. "When a student fails school, often it's the school infrastructure failing the student."

Loseby said the gap widens as students advance through the school system because education is cumulative. But he cautions against seeing the test only in terms of passing and failing and said it's important to acknowledge any improvement.

"Clearing the bar is one way to be successful," he said.

The best scores in reading came from eighth-graders, with 88 percent passing; the highest scores in writing were among fourth-graders, 83 percent of whom passed and the highest in math were fifth graders, 80 percent of whom passed.

Loseby said more students overall passed the reading portion of the test because, over time, the district has put more focus on reading.

"We recognize it's the access tool to all other areas of learning," Loseby said.