education

Between 2010 and 2016, Alaska’s graduation rate grew faster than the national average, increasing 8 percentage points, among the top 10 rate increases in the country. All demographic groups improved, with Native, low-income, and rural student rates growing the most. These are some of the trends described in a new Research Summary, “Alaska High School Graduation Rate Trends,” by Trang Tran, ISER Research Professional, and Alexandra Hill, Associate Director of ISER.

School superintendents are all too familiar with the costs of teacher turnover that deplete educational resources and challenge student achievement. A new paper, by Dayna DeFeo, director of ISER’s Center for Alaska Education Policy Research (CAEPR) and Trang Tran, ISER research professional, looks at how superintendents in Alaska’s rural districts – where teacher turnover is particularly pronounced – are working to address turnover by integrating a place-conscious approach in their hiring practices. 

Dual enrollment programs provide access to college-level courses to high school students prior to graduation, often helping students become more successful in high school and easing their path to college. Between 2008 and 2017, University of Alaska (UA) dual enrollment programs experienced an 85% increase in student enrollment and, among those who graduated from high school, 41% went on to attend a UA institution within a year.

ISER’s Diane Hirshberg is working with partners at Cook Inlet Tribal Council (CITC) on ways to strengthen culturally responsive early education. 

Using U.S. Census Bureau’s 2016 Annual Survey of School System Finances, Alaska ranks 6th in per-pupil education spending, however the ranking is deceptive since it doesn’t take into account the high cost of delivering education and high cost of living in different places in Alaska. When these costs are considered, Alaska’s per-pupil spending is about average, according to Dayna DeFeo, director of ISER’s Center for Alaska Education Policy Research. 

Diane Hirshberg, along with Charlene Stern, co-chair of Alaska Native Studies and Rural Development at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and Nolan Klouda, director of the University of Alaska’s Center for Economic Development, will be working with partners in the Neets’ąįį Gwich’in communities of Vashrąįį K’ǫǫ (Arctic Village) and Vįįhtąįį (Venetie) to explore Indigenous and non-Indigenous educational pathways necessary to sustain and develop economic, political, and social goals of indigenous communities. 

ISER Center for Alaska Education Policy Research (CAEPR) Director Dayna DeFeo and Research Professionals Jessica Passini and Trang Tran provided findings from two separate evaluation projects at a statewide meeting of educators and education administrators.

ISER Director Ralph Townsend and ISER faculty Diane Hirshberg provided information on school funding and the retention and turnover of teachers in Alaska at the February Alaska Municipal League (AML) Winter Legislative Meeting in Juneau. AML is an organization of cities, boroughs, and unified municipalities representing over 97% of Alaska residents.