Fairbanks B.E.S.T.

Fairbanks · AK · Fairbanks North Star Borough School District · Public · K-12 combined

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📖9 AP courses

📋 At a glance

Programs & features
  • 📚 9 AP courses offered — Elite
  • ✅ Gifted & talented program
  • 🔢 1 calculus classes · 2 physics · 5 chemistry
Academic signals
  • 🎓 AP rigor: 73th percentile nationally
  • 📝 SAT/ACT participation: Bottom 7% by test-taker volume
  • 🎓 4-yr grad rate: 44% (Bottom 8% of US high schools by 4-yr grad rate)

Composed from federal CRDC offerings, EDFacts ACGR, and other public data. Full breakdowns below.

💡

How Fairbanks B.E.S.T. compares for families

Stronger-than-average college-prep profile.

  • StatewideAP rigor at the 73th percentile nationally with 9 AP courses.
  • LocallyAK sits right at the US average on NAEP 8th-grade math — local school quality will set your kid apart.
  • vs Similar SchoolsThe closest comparables nearby: Houston High School, Palmer High School, Whaley School and 5 more. See the sidebar to compare side-by-side.

For Parents

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🎓 Academic rigor

AP + advanced-course offerings

Elite — exceptional AP + advanced course breadth

73th percentile nationally

50th 90th ↑ this school
Less rigorMore rigorMost rigor
AP courses offered
9
Math ✓ · Science ✓
Students taking AP courses
4
≈1 per 100 students · uptake, not just offerings
Advanced math classes
4
1 calculus · 3 advanced
Lab science classes
7
2 physics · 5 chemistry
Other rigor signals
✅ Gifted/talented program

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). CRDC reports what's offered + enrolled — it doesn't collect AP exam pass rates (College Board owns that data and doesn't release it school-level).

SAT / ACT participation

CRDC federal data · 2020-21

Bottom 7% by test-taker volume

50th 90th
SAT/ACT test-takers
4
11th-12th graders who took 1+ college admissions test
Test-taking intensity
1.0
takers per 100 students in grades 9-12
Compared against
18,426
US high schools reporting SAT/ACT participation

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). Volume — not score — is what's reported here. A higher count means more students at this school are entering the college admissions pipeline. Note: 2020-21 was COVID-disrupted; some districts (especially those that stayed remote longer) report unusually low or zero takers.

🎓 4-year graduation rate · federal EDFacts

What % of students graduate on time?

Bottom 8% of US high schools by 4-yr grad rate

50th 90th
4-year graduation rate
44%
Range: 40–49%
4-year cohort size
33
Students in the 9th-grade entry class tracked over 4 years
Compared against
17,988
US high schools reporting 4-year ACGR

Source: federal EDFacts ACGR (Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate), 2019 vintage via Urban Institute. EDFacts publishes a range (low-high) to preserve privacy on small cohorts; we display the midpoint.

👩‍🏫 Teacher workforce · federal CRDC

Teacher experience & reliability

% inexperienced teachers (1st-2nd yr)
0%
Strong: experienced corps. New teachers rotate through but most have ≥3 years in.
% chronic teacher absence (≥10 days/yr)
66.7%
Elevated. Teacher absence directly affects classroom continuity and student outcomes.

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2017-18 — the most recent vintage that publishes per-school teacher quality fields; the 2020-21 sweep had them suppressed). "Inexperienced" = teachers in their first or second year. "Chronic absence" = teachers absent 10+ days/year.

🏛️ Your state's public flagship

University of Alaska Fairbanks

$8,736
in-state tuition/yr · $22,320 out-of-state

The in-state tuition gap is the flagship's biggest draw — most in-state families pay far less than the out-of-state sticker. Average net price after aid runs about $10,892/yr. Admission odds depend on your student's GPA and test scores, not which high school they attend.

See the full University of Alaska Fairbanks profile → Estimate your odds with your scores →

Source: IPEDS admissions, tuition & enrollment + College Scorecard net price. Flagship = the state's primary public research university.

Counselor capacity

Student : Counselor
131:1
Below the ASCA 250:1 recommendation — strong capacity for college planning, course selection, and student supports.
Counselor FTE
6.0
Full-time-equivalent school counselors on staff.
Teacher FTE
1
Full-time-equivalent classroom teachers.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020-2021. Counselor ratio = the school's most recent total enrollment ÷ counselor FTE. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommends a 250:1 maximum; the US national median across schools with on-staff counselors is roughly 430:1.

Enrollment trend & projection

Grade 12 went from 66 in 2021 to 90 in 2024 — over 3 years.
+36.4%

Total enrollment + grade 12, NCES Common Core of Data (2021–2024).

If the recent trend holds…

At its recent rate of +3.3%/year, projecting from 2024's 784 students:

2025
810
2027
863
2029
921

An extrapolation of the recent trajectory, not a forecast of the school's plans; ignores one-off shocks.

Revenue upside

At $20,198 per student in district revenue, the 137 students projected to be gained by 2029 represent ≈ $2,767,126/year in additional funding.

District total revenue ÷ enrollment, NCES F-33. Public funding largely follows enrollment, so a shrinking class is a recurring budget hit.

Most similar nearby high schools

The schools most like this one — same type, blended on distance and size — and where their enrollment is heading. These are the schools families here weigh against each other.

SchoolTypeMilesHS enrollmentTrend
Houston High School
Big Lake
Public 234.1 337 -8.2%
Palmer High School
Palmer
Public 228.4 616 -17.0%
Whaley School
Anchorage
Public 260.5 253 -8.7%
Joe Redington Senior Jr/Sr High School
Wasilla
Public 239.5 231 -19.5%
Mat-Su Career & Tech Ed High School
Wasilla
Public 229.7 705 -7.7%
Mat-Su Middle College School
Palmer
Public 230.8 222 +18.7%
CyberLynx Correspondence Program
Nenana
Public 45.6 781 +55.3%
Burchell High School
Wasilla
Public 232.6 200 -14.9%

For Parents

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