Arctic Light Elementary

Summary:

Arctic Light Elementary is a public elementary school located in Fort Wainwright, Alaska, serving grades PK-5 with a student population of 467. The school is part of the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District, which is ranked 13 out of 24 districts in Alaska and has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Arctic Light Elementary has a more diverse student population compared to the nearby schools, with higher percentages of African American, Hispanic, and Pacific Islander students. However, the school has consistently ranked in the bottom half of Alaska elementary schools, with performance on standardized tests below the district and state averages. The school serves a significant population of military-connected students, who have also consistently ranked in the bottom of Alaska elementary schools. Additionally, Arctic Light Elementary has a higher percentage of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, with 50.32% of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch.

Compared to the nearby schools, such as Ticasuk Brown Elementary, University Park Elementary, and Weller Elementary, Arctic Light Elementary generally performs worse on standardized tests and has a lower statewide ranking. The school's performance has also declined over the years, and there are significant disparities in achievement among different student subgroups, suggesting the need for targeted interventions and support.


Detail:

Public PK, KG-5

 4167 Neely Rd
       Fort Wainwright, AK  99703-1110


(907) 356-2038

District: Fairbanks North Star Borough School District

SchoolDigger Rank:
129th of 173 Alaska Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $17,964 Help


Students who attend Arctic Light Elementary usually attend:

Middle:    Tanana Middle School
High:    Lathrop High School

Student/teacher ratio:  20.1 Help
Number of students:  431

Racial breakdown:

White:
42.9%
Hispanic:
28.3%
African American:
10.9%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  50.6% Help


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Performance Trends
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Compare Details Arctic Light Elementary ranks worse than 74.6% of elementary schools in Alaska. It also ranks 16th among 19 ranked elementary schools in the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 29.25. (See more...)
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Compare Details Arctic Light Elementary is not ranked due for the most recent year due to insufficient test score data. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2019 the calculated Average Standard Score was 68.15. (See more...)
Student Body
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Compare Details Racial makeup is: White (42.9%), Hispanic (28.3%), African American (10.9%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 50.6% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Arctic Light Elementary is 20.1. 17 elementary schools in the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)
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Compare Arctic Light Elementary employs 21.4 full-time teachers.
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at Arctic Light Elementary is $17,964, which is the 6th highest among 19 elementary schools in the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Arctic Light Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Arctic Light Elementary 129th of 173 Alaska public elementary schools. (See Arctic Light Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Military Connected students:
Male students:
Hispanic students:
White students:


Fairbanks North Star Borough School District:

SchoolDigger ranks Fairbanks North Star Borough School District 13th of 24 Alaska school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Rank History for Arctic Light Elementary

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Rank History for all elementary school students at Arctic Light Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2005 74.03 47th 213 77.9%
2006 68.70 78th 218 64.2%
2007 67.75 78th 212 63.2%
2008 63.85 93rd 219 57.5%
2009 61.98 103rd 226 54.4%
2010 67.85 84th 229 63.3%
2011 66.78 82nd 223 63.2%
2012 59.15 106th 227 53.3%
2013 53.85 123rd 223 44.8%
2014 65.87 84th 218 61.5%
2015 31.12 164th 246 33.3%
2017 26.00 149th 180 17.2%
2018 36.85 128th 186 31.2%
2019 60.24 71st 185 61.6%
2021 34.42 119th 173 31.2%
2022 33.48 120th 171 29.8%
2023 34.51 119th 176 32.4%
2024 29.25 129th 173 25.4%
See the entire list of Alaska Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for elementary school Low Socio Economic Status students at Arctic Light Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 74.49 31st 147 78.9%
2021 61.56 38th 110 65.5%
2022 55.08 39th 104 62.5%
2023 45.01 65th 119 45.4%
2024 39.81 80th 122 34.4%
See the entire list of Best Alaska Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for elementary school Female students at Arctic Light Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 63.40 63rd 159 60.4%
2021 30.50 104th 141 26.2%
2022 36.74 94th 143 34.3%
2023 33.04 102nd 152 32.9%
2024 37.47 93rd 142 34.5%
See the entire list of Best Alaska Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for elementary school Military Connected students at Arctic Light Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 37.48 19th 27 29.6%
2021 16.45 20th 20 0.0%
2022 18.32 21st 22 4.5%
2023 11.42 22nd 22 0.0%
2024 7.79 23rd 23 0.0%
See the entire list of Best Alaska Elementary Schools for Military Connected Students!

Rank History for elementary school Male students at Arctic Light Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 54.26 69th 159 56.6%
2021 37.87 91st 142 35.9%
2022 44.50 77th 148 48.0%
2023 30.26 109th 148 26.4%
2024 21.70 122nd 150 18.7%
See the entire list of Best Alaska Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for elementary school Hispanic students at Arctic Light Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 68.62 8th 30 73.3%
2021 31.58 14th 16 12.5%
2022 52.02 15th 26 42.3%
2023 27.25 26th 28 7.1%
2024 12.66 26th 27 3.7%
See the entire list of Best Alaska Elementary Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for elementary school White students at Arctic Light Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 45.65 82nd 147 44.2%
2021 25.26 110th 127 13.4%
2022 26.22 114th 137 16.8%
2023 25.59 114th 138 17.4%
2024 17.95 119th 133 10.5%
See the entire list of Best Alaska Elementary Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Alaska Department of Education and Early Developmenr, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

Rank History for Arctic Light Elementary

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Rank History for all middle school students at Arctic Light Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 68.15 28th 99 71.7%
See the entire list of Alaska Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for middle school Low Socio Economic Status students at Arctic Light Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 90.34 4th 64 93.8%
See the entire list of Best Alaska Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for middle school Female students at Arctic Light Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 68.02 23rd 74 68.9%
See the entire list of Best Alaska Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for middle school Military Connected students at Arctic Light Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 51.98 10th 20 50.0%
See the entire list of Best Alaska Elementary Schools for Military Connected Students!

Data source: test scores: Alaska Department of Education and Early Developmenr, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Arctic Light Elementary Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 






Data source: Alaska Department of Education and Early Development

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Enrollment information for Arctic Light Elementary

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Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1994 342 226 23 61 10 n/a n/a 0 662
1995 252 155 18 68 16 n/a n/a 0 509
1996 252 155 18 68 16 n/a n/a 0 509
1997 261 165 21 49 18 n/a n/a 0 514
1998 302 185 29 50 17 n/a n/a 0 583
1999 378 174 19 53 11 n/a n/a 0 635
2000 350 137 12 48 12 n/a n/a 0 559
2001 386 147 19 66 17 n/a n/a 0 635
2002 415 180 20 78 14 n/a n/a 0 707
2003 415 180 20 78 14 n/a n/a 0 707
2004 280 152 14 63 9 n/a n/a 0 518
2005 273 140 16 70 8 n/a n/a 0 507
2006 220 113 20 65 6 n/a n/a 0 424
2007 281 129 15 77 23 n/a n/a 0 525
2008 286 135 44 66 10 n/a n/a 0 541
2009 271 116 9 98 4 25 21 0 544
2010 274 105 9 112 8 23 0 0 531
2011 239 97 10 82 5 21 18 0 472
2012 303 99 10 105 8 19 37 0 581
2013 311 82 15 105 7 22 35 0 577
2014 275 56 5 136 8 20 38 0 538
2015 266 74 2 125 7 17 45 0 536
2016 246 90 3 134 5 25 40 0 543
2017 258 86 6 127 8 20 44 0 549
2018 228 97 8 127 7 23 48 0 538
2019 206 64 2 118 4 20 35 0 449
2020 190 61 3 106 5 10 46 0 421
2021 161 45 5 92 9 22 33 0 367
2022 189 51 9 103 10 17 46 0 425
2023 208 60 7 128 6 21 37 0 467
2024 185 47 7 122 5 28 37 0 431

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Arctic Light Elementary

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1994 662 30.0 22.1 n/a
1995 509 30.0 17.0 34.6
1996 509 30.0 17.0 34.6
1997 514 30.0 17.1 36
1998 583 31.1 18.7 63.8
1999 635 31.6 20.1 56.4
2000 559 30.6 18.3 54
2001 635 31.5 20.2 53.9
2002 707 38.5 18.4 53.7
2003 707 38.5 18.4 53.7
2004 518 30.0 17.3 54.2
2005 507 26.7 19.0 56.4
2006 424 24.5 17.3 53.3
2007 525 27.8 18.9 42.5
2008 541 29.2 18.5 59
2009 544 30.2 18.0 55.3
2010 531 31.2 17.0 52.9
2011 472 28.3 16.6 60
2012 581 31.3 18.5 55.6
2013 577 33.0 17.4 63.1
2014 538 29.8 18.0 60.8
2015 536 28.0 19.1 52.1
2016 543 26.0 20.8 57.6
2017 549 26.0 21.1 57.4
2018 538 27.3 19.6 53.9
2019 449 28.0 16.0 58.1
2020 421 25.0 16.8 61.8
2021 367 22.0 16.6 n/a
2022 425 22.0 19.3 n/a
2023 467 22.0 21.2 50.3
2024 431 21.4 20.1 50.6

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Arctic Light Elementary

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1994 662 30.0 22.1 n/a
1995 509 30.0 17.0 34.6
1996 509 30.0 17.0 34.6
1997 514 30.0 17.1 36
1998 583 31.1 18.7 63.8
1999 635 31.6 20.1 56.4
2000 559 30.6 18.3 54
2001 635 31.5 20.2 53.9
2002 707 38.5 18.4 53.7
2003 707 38.5 18.4 53.7
2004 518 30.0 17.3 54.2
2005 507 26.7 19.0 56.4
2006 424 24.5 17.3 53.3
2007 525 27.8 18.9 42.5
2008 541 29.2 18.5 59
2009 544 30.2 18.0 55.3
2010 531 31.2 17.0 52.9
2011 472 28.3 16.6 60
2012 581 31.3 18.5 55.6
2013 577 33.0 17.4 63.1
2014 538 29.8 18.0 60.8
2015 536 28.0 19.1 52.1
2016 543 26.0 20.8 57.6
2017 549 26.0 21.1 57.4
2018 538 27.3 19.6 53.9
2019 449 28.0 16.0 58.1
2020 421 25.0 16.8 61.8
2021 367 22.0 16.6 n/a
2022 425 22.0 19.3 n/a
2023 467 22.0 21.2 50.3
2024 431 21.4 20.1 50.6

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.
Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for Arctic Light Elementary

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YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $1,966 (10.9%) $15,997 (89.1%) $17,964

Data source: Alaska Department of Education
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on Arctic Light Elementary

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Rank
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Ranks 71st of 185 Elementary schoolsRanks 119th of 176 Elementary schools
 29.2%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
All Grades Science (Arctic Light Elementary)40.950
 9.1%
   All Grades Science (Fairbanks North Star Borough School District)51.242.8
 8.4%
   All Grades Science (Alaska)44.736.9
 7.7%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students449467
 4%
African American6460
 6.3%
American Indian46
 50%
Asian27
 250%
Hispanic118128
 8.5%
Pacific Islander2021
 5%
White206208
 1%
Two or More Races3537
 5.7%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients58.1%50.3%
 7.8%


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Frequently Asked Questions about Arctic Light Elementary

Arctic Light Elementary ranks 129th of 173 Alaska elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

Students who attend Arctic Light Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Tanana Middle School
High : Lathrop High School

Students at Arctic Light Elementary are 43% White, 28% Hispanic, 11% African American, 9% Two or more races, 6% Pacific Islander, 2% Asian, 1% American Indian.

In the 2023-24 school year, 431 students attended Arctic Light Elementary.


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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.





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