With one policy change, Alaska can improve learning, reduce poverty and ensure more students are on the path to success in career and college. Alaska invests huge sums into public K—12 education but […]
Video: Alaska Students Must Read by 9
Testimony on SB 111 – Read By 9
This is a copy of the verbal testimony APF provided to the Senate Education Committee on April 10, 2021. Click here to open a printable PDF of the testimony in a new tab. […]
Test-Based Promotion Policies are the Motivation Students and Schools Need
It’s no surprise that reading is a critical skill for young children to learn. In fact, by third grade, students “stop learning to read and start reading to learn.” This means it is […]
Read by Nine or Fall Behind: Alaska’s Students Are Set up to Fail
Early in 2020, legislation was announced again to address the third-grade literacy crisis facing Alaskan children. Year after year, the problem has been discussed and legislation with viable solutions proposed—only to go nowhere. Finally, in […]
Memo to Policymakers: Help Teachers Focus on Reading
By Robert Pondiscio This article originally appeared on the Thomas B. Fordham Institute website on November 19, 2020. At the tail end of a recent symposium titled “Why children can’t read—and what we can do […]
Podcast: Bob Griffin and Casey Dschaak Talk Education
In this episode, APF’s Senior Education Research Fellow Bob Griffin joins Casey Dschaak on the Alaska Conversations Podcast. Listen now as they discuss Alaska’s educational policies, including the Alaska Reads Act. They also […]
PEAKS Performance 2019: Victories for Alaska Charter Schools
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 […]
Top 10 Myths and Misconceptions Surrounding The Alaska Reads Act
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 […]
Testimony on SB6 – Early Literacy Education
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 […]
Press Release: Education Advocacy Groups Urged to Refocus Efforts on Student Outcomes
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 […]
Testimony on Alaska Reads Act
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.
Governor, Commissioner, Senator Announce Education Legislation
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 […]
Mississippi More than a Year ahead of Alaska in Fourth Grade Reading
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, […]
Third-Grade Literacy: Alaska’s students must Read by 9
The Problem Statistics for literacy among Alaska’s children are dismal. Alaska’s K-12 education system has arguably the worst student outcomes in the nation in the fundamental task of teaching children to read by […]