Summary:
Zip code 99645 in Palmer, Alaska, is served by four high schools within the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District — Colony High School, Palmer High School, Mat-Su Middle College School, and Mat-Su Secondary School — which together serve roughly 1,894 students across a mix of comprehensive, early-college, and alternative programs.
Among the two large traditional high schools, Colony High School is the largest and highest-ranked option, placing 23rd among Alaska high schools with the strongest science proficiency (47.85%) and math proficiency (24.04%) in the zip code. Palmer High School posts the highest ELA proficiency (42.45%) and a slightly higher graduation rate (92.0% vs. 91.5%), while also showing steady improvement in its state ranking over the past three years. Both schools outpace Alaska state averages in science and ELA, but both fall well short of the state average in math — a significant concern for parents. Mat-Su Middle College School stands apart with a perfect 100% graduation rate, though it does not report standardized test scores or a state ranking, making direct academic comparisons difficult.
The fourth school, Mat-Su Secondary School, is an extreme outlier with just 10 students and the highest per-student spending in the group at $35,056 — more than double Palmer's $16,102 and nearly triple Colony's $12,195. Its 80% graduation rate is the only one below the district average of 84.2%. Overall, most students in this zip code attend schools with strong graduation rates and solid science/ELA performance, but families should be aware of the math proficiency gap at the two comprehensive high schools and the limited comparable data from the smaller alternative programs.
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