2017 Executive Summary
Outcomes analyses continue to indicate the Alaska Performance Scholarship (APS) is one of Alaska's outstanding success stories, resulting in increased student achievement in high school and in their postsecondary studies. Analysis shows that not only do APS-eligible students remain in state for college and career training, they are also significantly more likely to live in Alaska following graduation. The benefits of APS are reaped not only by scholarship recipients, but also to high school students in general, who report the promise of the APS motivates them to work harder; to Alaska's college and career training institutions who are able to retain Alaska students who report they would have gone out-of-state were it not for the APS; and to Alaska's economy when we are able to provide a trained Alaskan workforce to our industry and employers.
The APS is an "invitation to excellence" to Alaska's high school students to inspire them to push themselves academically in order to succeed in college and career training and to contribute to Alaska's economy. Since its creation in 2011, more than 8,600 Alaskan high school graduates have benefitted from the APS, and a little more than 6,000 students remain eligible to make use of it in the future. Recipients come from all regions of the state and diverse racial and ethnic groups, and include public, private and home-schooled graduates.
Becoming APS eligible is not easy, with an average of 30 percent of graduates meeting the rigorous curricula, grades and standardized testing requirements to receive the scholarship. However, those who earn the APS excel in their postsecondary studies, taking more credit hours and requiring fewer developmental or remedial classes than their peers. They are more likely to continue in postsecondary education and to persist in their studies than are their ineligible peers. With six years having elapsed since program inception, we are also now able to report that APS recipients are more likely to stay in Alaska than their non-eligible peers.
To view the 2017 Expanded Alaska Performance Scholarship Outcomes Report click here.
To view the 2017 Alaska Performance Scholarship Infographic Outcomes Report click here.
All Previous APS Outcomes Reports