Our vision is an Alaska that continuously grows prosperity by maximizing individual opportunities and freedom
On November 19, 2020, the following amicus brief was accepted by the Supreme Court of Wisconsin in the case Wisconsin Council of Religious and Independent Schools v. Henrich. APF joined the Liberty Justice Center, […]
The Performance Evaluation for Alaska’s Schools (PEAKS) exam measures the performance of students and schools in both mathematics and English language arts (ELA). Routinely, Alaska’s schools woefully underperform on state and national standardized […]
In the midst of falling enrollment and an ill-timed change of leadership, the University of Alaska (UA) is currently struggling to cut a bloated budget. The UA system, which includes three main campuses […]
On July 6, 2020, I hosted Choice Media‘s Story of the Day for Instagram. The article I chose to discuss is “Parents are opting to home school their children because of COVID-19, but experts say […]
Parents and students in Montana and across the country achieved a big win on June 30. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue that states cannot exclude religious […]
On May 13, APF joined dozens of organizations in sending a letter to the leadership of the House of Representatives and Senate, expressing the belief that there must be dedicated funding and tax […]
It is time for Alaska to consider a June 1 kindergarten birthdate rule. Most Alaskan students are not showing up for kindergarten fully ready for school. That is especially true for the very […]
Myth 1: ALL research indicates students should ALWAYS be socially promoted, even if they are far below expected proficiency in reading in 3rd grade. Reality: Over a dozen studies show the benefits of […]
On February 12, 2020, I gave the following testimony on SB 6, “An Act relating to early education programs provided by school districts; relating to funding for early education programs; relating to the […]
Please see below the press release for APF’s policy brief, “It’s Time for Alaska’s K–12 Advocacy Groups to Focus on Student Outcomes.” Read the report here. Click here to open the PDF in […]
By David Boyle Click to open the PDF in a new tab. Introduction Many K–12 education advocacy groups in Alaska receive significant amounts of public funding for their internal operations, and dedicate […]
Below is the PowerPoint presentation from APF Senior Education Research Fellow Bob Griffin‘s testimony at the Senate Education Committee hearing on February 4, 2020.
On January 15 at Turnagain Elementary, the Governor of Alaska, the Alaska Commissioner for Education, and State Senator Begich announced in a press conference new education legislation to address the 3rd grade literacy […]
Click here to open the press release as a PDF in a new tab. ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Alaska Policy Forum (APF) has published new interactive maps of the 2019 Performance Evaluation for Alaska’s […]
By Richard K. Vedder This article is reprinted with permission from the Independent Institute and was originally published in Forbes on November 11, 2019. Politicians have historically favored funding state universities, arguing they […]
By Bob Griffin This op-ed was originally published in the Anchorage Daily News and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner in December 2019. For decades, Mississippi was synonymous with poor student achievement. Not anymore. In 2013, […]