Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY-SA 4.0Fairbanks’s public schools outscore 56% of Alaska districts
The grade covers the public school district serving Fairbanks, from kindergarten through graduation, on state tests and graduation. Each state writes its own tests, so this is the one TownRatings grade compared within Alaska, not nationally.
From Alaska state tests taken in spring 2022, when 90% of students in the tested grades sat them, and the class of 2023’s four-year graduation rate, as reported to the U.S. Department of Education.
Fairbanks’s schools, in brief
Against towns with similar incomes
Among the 125 Alaska towns with household incomes within a quarter of Fairbanks’s, its schools beat 46%, lower than their 56% against all the state’s districts. The grade ↓
Above the state on tests
Reading proficiency is 32% and math 24% in spring 2022, against 29% and 23% statewide; 76% of the class of 2023 graduated in four years, against 78%. Test scores ↓
Spending and class size
The district spends $18,337 per student, against $21,070 across Alaska (FY2024). Spending doesn’t count toward the grade. Districts ↓
Six elementary schools, then five middle and one high school
Which school depends on the address at every step. Enrollment is up 7% since 2020–21. See the path ↓
Choice beyond the district
Chinook Montessori Charter School, Boreal Sun Charter School, Monroe Jr., Sr. High Schools of Fairbanks (private), Immaculate Conception School (private), Fairbanks Montessori Association (private), Fairbanks Montessori School (private), Student Wrestling Development Prep Program (private) and Sprucetree Montessori School (private) are in town. Fairbanks B.E.S.T., an online school, is based here too; it isn’t counted as a local school. Every school ↓
Written from the figures on this page. Tests are from 2021–22, graduation from the class of 2023; each school’s own letter uses 2020–21 results.
What’s behind Fairbanks’s grade
B: better than 56% of Alaska school districts, #29 of 41 Alaska towns. Test scores are above the Alaska average; graduation is below it.
Where will my kid go?
Pick a grade. These are the public schools that serve Fairbanks, with each school’s own grade.
9th grade in Fairbanks
Lathrop High School
Grades 9–12 · 788 students · 17:1 students per teacher
10th grade in Fairbanks
Lathrop High School
Grades 9–12 · 788 students · 17:1 students per teacher
11th grade in Fairbanks
Lathrop High School
Grades 9–12 · 788 students · 17:1 students per teacher
12th grade in Fairbanks
Lathrop High School
Grades 9–12 · 788 students · 17:1 students per teacher
Fairbanks’s public schools are run by Fairbanks North Star Borough School District, which also serves North Pole. To confirm the school for a specific address, ask the district.
The district
Spending and class size are shown but don’t count toward the grade. Each district’s own page has every school.
Above the state in reading
Fairbanks vs. its neighbors
Schools grades for the Alaska towns that share Fairbanks’s borders.
| Town | Schools | Main districts |
|---|---|---|
| Fairbanks | B | Fairbanks North Star Borough |
Every school in Fairbanks
20 schools. Each public school’s letter compares its own 2020–21 reading and math results with Alaska’s other public schools (the newest school-level results we have).
Left off: 3 public programs with fewer than 25 students (Golden Heart Academy, Joy Elementary and Nordale Elementary).
Questions about Fairbanks’s schools
Are Fairbanks’s schools good?
They sit near the middle of Alaska: the public schools Fairbanks children attend outscore 56% of Alaska’s school districts on tests and graduation, a B Schools grade, #29 of 41 Alaska towns. Among towns with similar incomes they beat 46%. Tests are from 2021–22, graduation from the class of 2023.
What school district is Fairbanks in?
Fairbanks North Star Borough School District, which runs grades PK–12 and enrolls 11,857 students in 33 schools (2024–25).
Where do Fairbanks kids go to high school?
Lathrop High School, with 788 students; its own test results earn a B.
What is Fairbanks’s graduation rate?
76% of the class of 2023 in Fairbanks North Star Borough School District graduated in four years, against 78% across Alaska.
How much does Fairbanks spend per student?
$18,337 in Fairbanks North Star Borough School District (FY2024), against $21,070 across Alaska. Spending doesn’t count toward the grade.
Are there private schools in Fairbanks?
Yes: Monroe Jr., Sr. High Schools of Fairbanks (Catholic, grades PK–12, 342 students), Immaculate Conception School (Catholic, grades PK–12, 332 students), Fairbanks Montessori Association (nonsectarian, grades PK–K, 86 students), Fairbanks Montessori School (nonsectarian, grades PK–K, 84 students), Student Wrestling Development Prep Program (religious, grades 5–12, 65 students) and Sprucetree Montessori School (nonsectarian, grades K–6, 44 students). Fairbanks also has 2 charter schools, free and open by application.
Parents talk
What Fairbanks families are saying about school.
Looking for colleges? Colleges near Fairbanks → They have their own page.
School data: state test results (2021–22, with participation) and four-year graduation rates (class of 2023) reported to the U.S. Department of Education (EDFacts via ED Data Express); each school’s own letter uses its 2020–21 results (EDFacts via the Urban Institute); schools and enrollment from NCES (2024–25; private schools 2023–24); spending from the Census Bureau’s school finance survey (FY2024). The School Grade is our own summary, graded within Alaska. Stars are from neighbors.