Alaska leads Charter School Student Performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress

Earlier this month, the Program on Education Policy and Governance (PEPG) at Harvard released the first-ever state ranking of charter student performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). This groundbreaking report, titled The Nation’s Charter Report Card, identifies Alaska, as a frontrunner, along with Colorado, and Massachusetts.

According to the report, Alaska leads the pack with an outstanding performance in both math and reading, scoring 32.1% of a standard deviation higher than the national charter school average. According to PEPG, a 32% standard deviation above the average national charter score equates to more than one full year of learning.

The PEPG rankings based on NAEP tests in reading and math. The tests, known as the Nation’s Report Card, are administered every two years to representative samples of U.S. students in grades 4 and 8. To obtain a robust sample for each state, each survey wave includes more than 100,000 observations of public-school students in both district and charter schools. The number of tested charter-school students varies between 3,630 and 7,990 per test, depending on the subject, grade, and year.

Alaska’s high ranking for charter-school student achievement may seem surprising given its low ranking for NAEP performance by all public-school students. In a 2019 analysis by the Urban Institute, Alaska ranked at or near the bottom in both reading and math in grades 4 and 8. Further, Alaska’s charter achievement ranks seventh when no adjustments are made for background characteristics. Charter student performance in Alaska seems to deserve its ranking in the top tier.

"I congratulate the students, parents, teachers, and staff of Alaska's Charter schools in their success. Your learning performance is a testament to your commitment to excellence," said Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) Commissioner Dr. Deena Bishop.

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy also expressed congratulations to the Alaska charter schools, saying "This report shows the positive influence of parental involvement and choice in education. By empowering parents to actively participate in the decision-making process regarding their children's education, Alaska's charter schools have created a unique environment conducive to academic success."

Charter schools were established to provide alternatives to traditional public schools while maintaining a commitment to public education. The desired outcomes of charter schools include innovation and flexibility, choice and parental involvement, a diversity in educational models, community engagement and collaboration, and increased student achievement.