The school year is over, and ISER researchers are studying which Alaska educators choose to come back to their jobs next year – and why. Researchers from the Center for Alaska Education Policy Research (CAEPR) presented updated teacher and principal turnover numbers, as well as preliminary findings from their statewide educator survey, at the Alaska State Board of Education on Wednesday June 3.
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CAEPR is currently running a statewide educator survey!
The survey was developed in collaboration with education shareholders. It is a confidential survey that asks educators about their school and work experience, their community, themselves, and their future plans.
In early February, every in-service educator in Alaska received a personalized email survey invitation. We will send reminders to teachers periodically over the next 8 weeks, and develop a report in June.
We are excited to do this in service of schools and communities in our state.
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ISER researchers Matt Berman and Dayna DeFeo have released a new report updating their previous analyses of Alaska’s current per-pupil education spending. The report is available here: http://hdl.handle.net/11122/15717
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Researchers with ISER study a number of important topics related to education, including what the state spends per pupil and how it invests in school facilities. Two legislative briefs from 2021 analyzed the cost for school districts in providing basic but critical needs: internet access and energy.
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This 2022 update to a 2019 report analyzes Alaska’s per-pupil spending compared to that of other U.S. states, using 2019 and 2017 figures respectively. After adjusting for Alaska’s higher living costs, and accounting for differing per-pupil spending costs across the state, the figures show that Alaska’s 2019 per student spending was only 93% of the national average, compared to 98% in 2017.
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A new analysis of Alaska’s K-12 Capital Spending shows that the state is not spending what is needed to maintain, renovate, and renew its K-12 school buildings. The study, authored by ISER research professor Bob Loeffler, reviews historical K-12 capital spending from state and local sources from Fiscal Year 2000 through Fiscal Year 2020. It details the funding sources Alaska uses for large school maintenance, renovation, and construction projects for both municipal and rural areas. The study illustrates the decline in spending after the current budget crisis hit in 2014, and shows how Alaska’s K-12 capital spending falls short of recommended industry guidelines.
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In a new education publication, Dayna DeFeo, Matthew Berman, Alexandra Hill, and Diane Hirshberg examine how Alaska’s K-12 spending compares to other states in the US. In Alaska’s fiscal crisis that has drawn increased attention to education spending, this report shows that after taking into account higher Alaska prices for items largely beyond local school districts' control, Alaska's per pupil spending is about average among all the US states.