Alaska Trends

Alaska’s Schools Improve Graduation Rates

One bright spot in Alaska’s education system is the ongoing trend that more students are graduating from high school and fewer students are dropping out. Since the 2010/2011 school year, the graduation rate for Alaska students has risen by 10.2 percent, and the dropout rate dropped from 4.7 percent in 2010/2011 to 3.5 percent in 2016/2017, the last year for which data is currently available. The total number of graduates increased by just more than 300 over the seven-year span, and the total number of students dropping out of high school decreased by more than 700 in the same time period.

2010-2017 Graduation Rates

2010-2017 Graduate Counts

A graduate is defined as a student who has received a regular diploma from a state or district approved education program, as evidenced by receipt of a secondary school diploma from school authorities. This does not include a student who receives a certificate of achievement or a GED.

There is often confusion between graduation rates and dropout rates. Dropout rates are event rates meaning they are calculated across a single year. The graduation rates are measures of cohort groups across four years.

2010-2017 Dropout Rates

2010-2017 Dropout Counts

A student is not considered a dropout if his or her departure was due to the completion of a state- or district-approved education program; transfer to a public school, private school, or state- or district-approved education program; temporary absence caused by suspension, illness, or medical condition; or death.

*The High School Graduation Qualifying Examination (HSGQE) was removed as a graduation requirement on July 1, 2014. The 2014-2015 cohort group is the first to be affected by this change.

**A valid score on a College and Career Ready Assessment (CCRA) was removed as a graduation requirement on June 30, 2016.

Alaska Department of Education & Early Development Data Center

ANS Crude Oil Production

SOURCE: Alaska Department of Revenue Tax Division

ANS West Coast Crude Oil Prices

SOURCE: Alaska Department of Revenue Tax Division

Statewide Employment Figures

10/1976—10/2018
Seasonally Adjusted

SOURCE: Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Research & Analysis Section