Best Public Schools in Zip Code 99652

ZIP code 99652 covers the Big Lake and Houston areas of Alaska, where just two public schools serve grades PK–8: Big Lake Elementary (PK–5, 362 students) and Houston Middle School (6–8, 318 students). Both belong to the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District, which ranks 6th out of 23 districts in Alaska and holds a 4-star district rating, yet both local schools sit near the lower half of their statewide peer groups.

Big Lake Elementary is the stronger of the two schools overall, earning a 2-star SchoolDigger rating and a 29th percentile state ranking. It posts higher all-grade proficiency in math (34.16% vs. 23.81%) and science (48.98% vs. 39.80%) than Houston Middle School, and its students qualify for free/reduced lunch at a lower rate (61.9% vs. 74.2%). Science is a notable strength at Big Lake, at 48.98% proficiency versus a 37.81% state average, and its 3rd-grade math proficiency is 43.48% versus a 33.66% statewide figure. Houston Middle School counters with smaller classes (13.8 students per teacher) and higher per-pupil spending ($17,303 vs. $15,634), but it lags in academics and holds just a 1-star rating. Its 6th-grade ELA proficiency of 44.68% is a bright spot, above both the district (43.78%) and state (35.58%) averages, and the school has improved its state percentile from the 10th to the 20th percentile in the past year.

ELA is the clearest shared weakness: both schools fall below the state average of 32.89%, with Big Lake at 26.71% and Houston at 27.38%. Houston’s grade-level data shows a steep decline from 6th grade ELA (44.68%) to 7th (17.14%) and 8th grade (18.18%); math also drops from 30.34% in 6th grade to just 17.17% in 8th grade. Big Lake’s math proficiency similarly erodes from 43.48% in 3rd grade to 26.00% by 5th grade. While Houston Middle School is trending upward year-over-year, Big Lake Elementary has slipped from the 46th to the 29th percentile over two years. With no high school in the ZIP code, families should look beyond 99652 to complete grades 9–12, and note that the district’s overall strength does not yet show up in these two schools’ test scores.