Beta You're viewing our redesigned school list. Prefer the classic layout?

High Schools in Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District

New rankings! SchoolDigger recently updated its Alaska rankings with newly released test scores for the 2025-26 school year.

Be the first to know when we post new rankings!

At a glance

DistrictMatanuska-Susitna Borough School District6^th of 23 Alaska districtsFull district overview →

Schools

4,682

Students

Top rankedColony High School23^rd of 62 Alaska high schools

▲

Biggest riser

Susitna Valley High up 19 spots statewide this year

◉

Smallest classes

Houston High School 13.4 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

3★

2★

1★

3 schools without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

Compare Alaska districts →See the top-ranked Alaska schools →

Summary:

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District operates 10 high schools serving roughly 4,682 students across the Wasilla-Palmer area of Southcentral Alaska, with grade configurations ranging from traditional 9-12 campuses at Colony High School and Wasilla High School to combined 6-12 schools like Joe Redington Senior Junior/Senior High School, Susitna Valley High, and Mat-Su Secondary School, plus an 8-12 Mat-Su Middle College School. The district as a whole earns 4 stars and ranks 6th of 23 Alaska districts, though no high school currently holds a 4- or 5-star state rating. Colony High School ranks highest at #23 of 62 (3 stars), followed by Palmer High School at #27, Susitna Valley High at #28, and Mat-Su Career & Technical Educational High School at #31; Wasilla High School and Houston High School rank lower at #39 and #53.

Colony High School is the strongest all-around traditional performer, leading the district in 10th-grade science proficiency (47.85%) while spending the least per student ($12,195). Palmer High School has improved most steadily, rising from #44 to #27 in two years, and leads traditional high schools in 9th-grade ELA (42.45%). Specialized models deliver the best graduation results: Mat-Su Career & Technical Educational High School graduates 97% of students and Mat-Su Middle College School posts a perfect 100%. Susitna Valley High is a genuine turnaround story, jumping from #57 to #28 in two years and posting the district's highest 9th-grade ELA score (46.67%), although its 81.4% graduation rate trails the 84.2% district average.

Houston High School and Burchell High School face the steepest challenges and serve the district's highest-poverty populations. Houston's 9th-grade math proficiency is just 6.49% — the lowest in the district by far — and Burchell posts the lowest ELA proficiency (14.81%) with an 80.4% graduation rate. Ninth-grade math is the district's biggest academic weakness: Joe Redington Senior Junior/Senior High School sits at 11.67% proficiency and Susitna Valley High at 16.67%. Higher spending does not guarantee better outcomes — Burchell spends $23,979 per student and Houston $20,488, yet both trail far less expensive Colony High School ($12,195) academically. Parents should treat single-year rankings cautiously at smaller schools, where a single class cohort can swing results dramatically in either direction.

Load more schools when map is moved

Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				STAR English Language Arts (2026)					STAR Mathematics (2026)					ASA Science (2026)			Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients (2025)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	STAR English Language Arts 6th Grade	STAR English Language Arts 7th Grade	STAR English Language Arts 8th Grade	STAR English Language Arts 9th Grade	STAR English Language Arts All Grades	STAR Mathematics 6th Grade	STAR Mathematics 7th Grade	STAR Mathematics 8th Grade	STAR Mathematics 9th Grade	STAR Mathematics All Grades	ASA Science 8th Grade	ASA Science 10th Grade	ASA Science All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Palmer High School	Public	9-12	1170 W Bogard Rd	Palmer	99645	Matanuska-Susitna Borough	Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District	No	No	No	No	(907) 746-8400	616	37	16.6	34.9%	413 (67.0%)	5 (0.8%)	63 (10.2%)	5 (0.8%)	52 (8.4%)	5 (0.8%)	73 (11.9%)	57.4	27^th of 62 public high schools	56.5%		44.6	32^nd of 60 public high schools	46.7%	5				42.5	42.5				22.3	22.3		42.8	42.8	$16,102	$824	$15,278
Susitna Valley High	Public	6-12	42728 S Parks Hwy	Talkeetna	99676	Matanuska-Susitna Borough	Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District	No	No	No	Yes	(907) 733-9300	233	16	14.5	49.8%	172 (73.8%)	2 (0.9%)	9 (3.9%)	1 (0.4%)	13 (5.6%)	3 (1.3%)	33 (14.2%)	56.3	28^th of 62 public high schools	54.8%		26.8	47^th of 60 public high schools	21.7%	19	30.0	44.1	28.1	46.7	37.3	16.7	41.2	31.3	16.7	27.0	45.2	46.2	45.6	$23,313	$1,747	$21,566
Wasilla High School	Public	9-12	701 E Bogard Rd	Wasilla	99654	Matanuska-Susitna Borough	Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District	No	No	No	Yes	(907) 352-8200	816	45	18.0	33.3%	525 (64.3%)	9 (1.1%)	80 (9.8%)	11 (1.3%)	63 (7.7%)	8 (1.0%)	120 (14.7%)	36.3	39^th of 62 public high schools	37.1%		39.5	38^th of 60 public high schools	36.7%	1				30.1	30.1				21.5	21.5		32.4	32.4	$14,988	$1,108	$13,880
Mat-Su Secondary School	Public	6-12	581 S Outer Springer Lp	Palmer	99645	Matanuska-Susitna Borough	Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District	No	No	No	No	(907) 761-7238	10	1	10.0		5 (50.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (40.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (10.0%)								(n/a)														$35,056	$3,389	$31,667
Houston High School	Public	9-12	12501 W Hawk Lane	Big Lake	99694	Matanuska-Susitna Borough	Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District	No	No	No	Yes	(907) 892-9400	337	25	13.4	61.1%	212 (62.9%)	2 (0.6%)	16 (4.7%)	5 (1.5%)	33 (9.8%)	3 (0.9%)	66 (19.6%)	22.6	53^rd of 62 public high schools	14.5%		32.9	44^th of 60 public high schools	26.7%	9				29.5	29.5				6.5	6.5		32.3	32.3	$20,488	$2,810	$17,678
Colony High School	Public	9-12	9550 E Bogard Rd	Palmer	99645	Matanuska-Susitna Borough	Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District	No	No	No	No	(907) 861-5500	1,046	51	20.4	31.3%	697 (66.6%)	5 (0.5%)	87 (8.3%)	15 (1.4%)	68 (6.5%)	4 (0.4%)	170 (16.3%)	60.1	23^rd of 62 public high schools	62.9%		50.2	30^th of 60 public high schools	50.0%	7				39.1	39.1				24.0	24.0		47.9	47.9	$12,195	$658	$11,537
Burchell High School	Public	9-12	1775 W Parks Hwy	Wasilla	99654	Matanuska-Susitna Borough	Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District	No	No	No	Yes	(907) 864-2600	200	12	16.6	70.0%	106 (53.0%)	1 (0.5%)	8 (4.0%)	2 (1.0%)	37 (18.5%)	2 (1.0%)	44 (22.0%)								(n/a)				14.8	14.8				< 10%	< 10%		< 20%	< 20%	$23,979	$5,024	$18,955
Mat-Su Career & Technical Educational High School	Public	9-12	2472 N Seward Meridian Pkwy	Wasilla	99654	Matanuska-Susitna Borough	Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District	No	No	No	No	(907) 352-0400	705	42	16.6	25.0%	523 (74.2%)	5 (0.7%)	53 (7.5%)	6 (0.9%)	38 (5.4%)	3 (0.4%)	77 (10.9%)	53.5	31^st of 62 public high schools	50.0%		65	23^rd of 60 public high schools	61.7%	8				33.9	33.9				27.0	27.0		40.1	40.1	$12,208	$273	$11,935
Mat-Su Middle College School	Public	8-12	8295 East College Drive	Palmer	99645	Matanuska-Susitna Borough	Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District	No	No	No	No	(907) 746-8485	222	2	111.0	20.3%	170 (76.6%)	1 (0.5%)	13 (5.9%)	1 (0.5%)	7 (3.2%)	0 (0.0%)	30 (13.5%)								(n/a)												≥ 80%	≥ 80%	$12,676	$94	$12,582
Joe Redington Senior Junior/Senior High School	Public	6-12	10015 W Redington School Rd	Wasilla	99623	Matanuska-Susitna Borough	Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District	No	No	No	Yes	(907) 864-5400	497	31	16.0	45.5%	276 (55.5%)	5 (1.0%)	46 (9.3%)	6 (1.2%)	68 (13.7%)	5 (1.0%)	91 (18.3%)	34.7	41^st of 62 public high schools	33.9%		24.7	49^th of 60 public high schools	18.3%	8	28.2	25.0	28.0	35.0	28.6	24.3	25.0	20.3	11.7	20.9	37.7	39.0	38.1	$15,358	$1,294	$14,063

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Anchorage School District	10.03 mi	95	11^th
Iditarod Area School District	14.27 mi	8
Chugach School District	29.03 mi	4
Kenai Peninsula Borough School District	43.09 mi	43	10^th

See the top AK Alaska districts

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Alaska Department of Education and Early Developmenr.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.