Accountability is important, especially for public education. Yet, 86.2% of Alaska students who are part of a state-sanctioned homeschool (correspondence) program did not take the mandated AK STAR test in the 2023-24 school year. These students still received their full correspondence allotments. Data on other important tests, such as the mClass Benchmark assessment used to screen reading in grades K-3, are much harder to find.

In Fairbanks just 4% of B.E.S.T’s home school students took the test. How are the other 96% of students doing? Are they making academic gains like the 63% of students in Fairbanks and North Pole who reached the benchmark in reading by the end of the school year 2024, an increase of over 40% of the course of the school year?

Why do we hand out public money for cor

See Full Page