By PEDRO GONZALEZ
A new study published by Pink Storage on the best and worst states to study in the United States ranked Alaska the fourth-worst for education overall.
The analysis looked at several metrics, including graduation rates, college dropout rates, student loan debt, number of blue ribbon schools, and absenteeism.
Alaska tied with Alabama for second place for the lowest graduation rate. It came in third for the highest levels of absenteeism. The state tied with Delaware and Mississippi for the fourth-lowest reading scores in the country.
In August, Alaska’s Department of Education and Early Development revealed that most students are not proficient in reading, math, or science. Notably, that came after standards for the statewide assessment were lowered last January.
What’s the problem? It’s not like Alaska doesn’t throw money at the problem.
According to the Education Data Initiative, K-12 public schools in the Last Frontier spend $22,000 per pupil for a total of $2.88 billion annually. “K-12 schools in Alaska receive the most funding per pupil from the federal government,” the initiative reports.
Overall, Alaska ranks sixth in spending per pupil across the 50 states.
One obvious culprit is the lingering effects of the pandemic or, rather, the measures taken during that time that set children back in terms of educational development. The effects of that still aren’t fully understood or appreciated. Writing in Pediatric Research, a team of pediatricians noted that this period “had significant indirect effects on multiple areas of child development, school readiness, educational attainment, socialization skills, mental health, in addition to risks based on social determinants of health.”
The one bright spot on the education front is in Alaska’s charter schools, which topped a study released by Harvard researchers last year.
“Alaska stands first in math and third (tied for second) in reading performances,” they found.
Paul Peterson, director of the program on education policy and governance at Harvard University, told the Senate Education Committee at the time that “Alaska has higher-performing charter school students than Colorado and Massachusetts, who are well known to be strong in this sector.”
Addressing Alaska’s education woes, at least at the K-12 level, likely starts with understanding why these schools are so successful and building policy around that.
Pedro Gonzalez writes for Must Read Alaska.
