Report: The data do not suggest Alaska charter schools are more effective than neighborhood schools

This report from Beth Zirbes and Mike Bronson examines results from Alaska’s in-state academic assessments of public school students during the 2018-2019 school year to determine how much of the charter schools’ performance might be attributable to characteristics that students bring to the schools versus the education the schools provide.

Read the report: the data do not suggest Alaska charter schools are more effective than neighborhood schools.

About the Authors:

• Beth Zirbes teaches high school students in mathematics and statistics in Fairbanks. She has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota, and master’s degrees in both mathematics and statistics from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.

• Mike Bronson volunteers with the Anchorage branch of the National Association of Colored People. He holds a biology doctorate degree from the University of California.