Summary
Susitna Elementary, located in the eastern part of Anchorage, Alaska, serves 394 students in grades PK‑6 and is part of the Anchorage School District. The school has a high rate of economic disadvantage, with over 69% of students qualifying for free or reduced‑price lunch in recent years. Test scores show reading and math proficiency below both district and state averages, but science scores are a clear bright spot—slightly above the district average and above the state average. For example, science proficiency was 42.2%, compared to 37.8% statewide, while reading and math lagged well behind. This science strength stands out even more when compared to nearby schools with similar demographics, making it a potential foundation for future STEM success.
Looking at the local picture, Susitna is part of a cluster of elementary schools where many also struggle academically. However, Susitna outperforms several neighbors with higher poverty rates, such as Muldoon Elementary and Chester Valley Elementary, which have much lower reading and math scores. Even more notable, Susitna’s science proficiency is nearly double the average of the ten schools nearest to it. Only Scenic Park Elementary scores slightly higher in science—but Scenic Park has far less poverty (39% free/reduced lunch) and much smaller class sizes, making Susitna’s achievement arguably more impressive. Susitna also operates with less funding per student ($13,238) and a higher student‑teacher ratio (18.5) than most neighbors, yet it still manages to post better results than many schools that receive more resources.
There are also encouraging patterns within the school. Test scores from the 2025‑26 school year show that students make significant academic gains from 3rd to 5th grade. While 3rd graders struggled with reading and math, 5th graders were much closer to district averages in both subjects, suggesting that teaching becomes more effective in the upper elementary years. This likely points to a need for stronger early‑grade support rather than a school‑wide problem. Susitna has historically been a mid‑performing school (around the 49th percentile in 2014‑15), but its overall ranking fell as student poverty increased over the past decade. Still, given low spending, large classes, and a challenging demographic profile, Susitna appears to be doing a solid job with limited resources—particularly in science and in supporting students as they progress through the grades.
Thank you for your feedback!