Beta You're viewing our redesigned school page. Prefer the classic layout?

Cass Lake-Bena Secondary

Public Grades 9-12

428^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 450 Minnesota High Schools

Better than 5% of Minnesota high schools

Summary

Cass Lake-Bena Secondary is a public high school located in Cass Lake, Minnesota, serving grades 9-12 with a total enrollment of 253 students. The school is part of the Cass Lake-Bena Public Schools district, which is ranked 428 out of 446 districts in Minnesota and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Cass Lake-Bena Secondary consistently ranks in the bottom quartile of Minnesota high schools, with its performance on MCA-III assessments significantly below the state averages. For example, in 2024-2025, only 2.08% of 11th-grade students were proficient or better in Math, compared to the state average of 34.96%. The school's four-year graduation rate has ranged from 50.5% to 84.2%, which is below the state average, and its dropout rate has ranged from 4.4% to 16.6%, which is higher than the state average. In comparison, nearby schools like Walker-Hackensack-Akeley Secondary have had higher graduation rates and lower dropout rates.

Cass Lake-Bena Secondary has a high percentage of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, with 77.34% to 79.05% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The school also has a high proportion of Native American students. While these factors likely contribute to the academic challenges faced by the school, nearby schools with similar demographics have demonstrated higher academic performance, suggesting that targeted interventions and support programs could help improve outcomes for Cass Lake-Bena Secondary students.

263

Students ?

11.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$25,363

Per pupil spending ?

75.7%

Free/discounted lunch ?

15308 State 371 NW
Cass Lake, MN 56633-3373

(218) 335-2203

District: Cass Lake-Bena Public Schools

Feeder schools for Cass Lake-Bena Secondary:

Elementary:	Cass Lake-Bena Elementary
Middle:	Cass Lake-Bena Middle School

Racial breakdown:

American Indian:

92.4%

White:

6.1%

Hispanic:

1.1%

See top rated Minnesota high schools

Compare Cass Lake-Bena Secondary to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 24th percentile in 2015 → 5th in 2025

Strengths

✓Small classes — about 12 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Minnesota average (11% vs 47% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (5th percentile)

!Graduation rate below the Minnesota average (77% vs 84%)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school11%

District avg18%

Minnesota avg47%

428^th of 450

Minnesota public high schools ?

Bottom 5%▼ down 20 pts since 2015

From bottom 24% (2015) to bottom 5% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Minnesota High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1^st of 2High Schools in the Cass Lake-Bena Public Schools

428^th of 446Cass Lake-Bena Public Schools among Minnesota districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	7.8	428 of 450	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	12.0	425 of 480	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	14.9	404 of 476	15.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	26.5	365 of 472	22.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	14.2	381 of 428	11.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	24.7	385 of 492	21.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	25.2	379 of 494	23.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	24.7	376 of 489	23.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	17.1	393 of 489	19.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	26.8	381 of 504	24.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	26.2	376 of 483	22.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	37.0	368 of 534	31.1%	★★☆☆☆
2012	45.5	351 of 539	34.9%	★★☆☆☆
2011	36.5	372 of 545	31.7%	★★☆☆☆
2010	38.7	368 of 540	31.9%	★★☆☆☆
2009	18.1	202 of 234	13.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	38.4	339 of 460	26.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	28.4	359 of 463	22.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	14.1	379 of 450	15.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	46.6	343 of 452	24.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	34.7	357 of 433	17.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	6.2	345 of 358	3.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	9.0	374 of 403	7.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	13.8	358 of 396	9.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	16.1	339 of 388	12.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	11.0	317 of 339	6.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	13.2	357 of 401	11.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	24.7	326 of 395	17.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2024	47.7	6 of 9	33.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	27.9	10 of 12	16.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	15.4	300 of 333	9.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	20.7	338 of 389	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	18.7	344 of 393	12.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	39.4	194 of 312	37.8%	★★☆☆☆
2021	28.7	210 of 270	22.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	26.8	286 of 370	22.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	33.3	269 of 374	28.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	4.7	373 of 377	1.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	10.2	374 of 405	7.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	10.8	366 of 398	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	26.4	327 of 403	18.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	11.4	327 of 351	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	25.3	337 of 411	18.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	15.8	352 of 398	11.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Native American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	14.4	26 of 28	7.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	21.8	34 of 42	19.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	20.5	32 of 36	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	57.0	7 of 16	56.3%	★★★☆☆
2021	36.6	7 of 11	36.4%	★★☆☆☆
2019	35.8	10 of 15	33.3%	★★★☆☆
2018	41.6	11 of 14	21.4%	★★☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2024	22.2	184 of 221	16.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	74.9	31 of 173	82.1%	★★★★☆
2018	18.1	175 of 195	10.3%	★☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Homeless (2024)33rd percentile+22 vs school

Special Education (2024)17th percentile+5 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)10th percentile+5 vs school

Native American (2025)7th percentile~ school

Female (2025)4th percentile~ school

Male (2025)1st percentile-4 vs school

By subject vs Minnesota (2024-2025) ?

Reading20%-30 vs state

Math2%-43 vs state

★

No ratings yet

Be the first to rate Cass Lake-Bena Secondary and help other families decide.

Rate Cass Lake-Bena Secondary

Have first-hand experience? A quick rating - and a sentence or two about what stands out (teachers, academics, safety, communication) - helps other families know what to expect.

Takes about a minute. We email you a link to verify your review - your address is never shown publicly.

Tap a star to rate

Reviews

No written reviews yet. If you know this school, be the first to share what stands out.

Schools Near Cass Lake-Bena Secondary

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				MCA-III Math (2025)		MCA-III Reading (2025)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	MCA-III Math 11th Grade	MCA-III Math All Grades	MCA-III Reading 10th Grade	MCA-III Reading All Grades	Total
Cass Lake-Bena Secondary	Public	9-12	15308 State 371 NW	Cass Lake	56633	Cass County	Cass Lake-Bena Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(218) 335-2203	263	22	11.7	75.7%	16 (6.1%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	243 (92.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	7.8	428^th of 450 public high schools	4.9%		12	425^th of 480 public high schools	11.5%	3	2.1	2.1	19.6	19.6	$25,363
Cass Lake-Bena Area Learning Cntr.	Public	7-12	208 Central Ave NW	Cass Lake	56633	Cass County	Cass Lake-Bena Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(218) 335-2204	94	8	11.9	79.8%	4 (4.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	90 (95.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4.5	447^th of 450 public high schools	0.7%		10.9	433^rd of 480 public high schools	9.8%	14	0.0	0.0	7.7	5.0	$21,734
Laporte Secondary	Public	9-12	315 Main St W	Laporte	56461	Hubbard County	Laporte Public School District	No	No	No	No	(218) 224-2288	106	7	14.3	45.3%	89 (84.0%)	2 (1.9%)	1 (0.9%)	2 (1.9%)	7 (6.6%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (4.7%)	43.8	281^st of 450 public high schools	37.6%		36.2	330^th of 480 public high schools	31.3%	49	19.2	19.2	48.0	48.0	$14,400
Lakeside Learning Center	Public	6-12	502 Minnesota Ave NW	Bemidji	56601	Beltrami County	Bemidji Public School District	No	No	No	No	(218) 333-3477	7	1	5.0		2 (28.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (71.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)					$39,313
Voyageurs Expeditionary School	Public, Charter	9-12	3724 Bemidji Ave N	Bemidji	56601	Beltrami County	Voyageurs Expeditionary	Yes	No	No	Yes	(218) 444-3130	83	13	6.5	81.9%	22 (26.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	47 (56.6%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (15.7%)	12.3	408^th of 450 public high schools	9.3%		17.9	402^nd of 480 public high schools	16.3%	6	7.7	7.7	23.1	23.1	$23,034
Oshki Manidoo Center	Public	7-12	1741 15th St NW	Bemidji	56601	Beltrami County	Bemidji Public School District	No	No	No	No	(218) 333-3478	4	0	15.1		0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)					$15,198
Bemidji Area Learning Center	Public	5-12	2900 Division St W	Bemidji	56601	Beltrami County	Bemidji Public School District	No	No	No	No	(218) 333-3299	0	2	28.8		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)					$30,748
Bemidji Senior Lumberjack Alternative Learning Center	Public	9-12	2900 Division St W	Bemidji	56601	Beltrami County	Bemidji Public School District	No	No	No	No	(218) 444-1600	85	4	21.1	56.5%	49 (57.6%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (2.4%)	1 (1.2%)	28 (32.9%)	2 (2.4%)	3 (3.5%)	10.8	415^th of 450 public high schools	7.8%		17.8	403^rd of 480 public high schools	16.0%	12	9.1	9.1	0.0	0.0	$11,944
Treknorth High School	Public, Charter	9-12	2400 Pine Ridge Ave NW	Bemidji	56601	Beltrami County	Treknorth High School	Yes	No	No	Yes	(218) 444-1888	144	9	15.6	63.9%	58 (40.3%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (3.5%)	0 (0.0%)	71 (49.3%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (6.9%)	44.6	279^th of 450 public high schools	38.0%		41.4	304^th of 480 public high schools	36.7%	25	9.5	9.5	51.5	51.5	$16,188
Bemidji Senior High	Public	9-12	2900 Division St W	Bemidji	56601	Beltrami County	Bemidji Public School District	No	No	No	No	(218) 444-1600	1,537	78	19.8	33.4%	1,122 (73.0%)	14 (0.9%)	25 (1.6%)	6 (0.4%)	327 (21.3%)	1 (0.1%)	42 (2.7%)	48.8	261^st of 450 public high schools	42.0%		50.6	255^th of 480 public high schools	46.9%	6	37.4	37.4	37.1	37.1	$13,403

Frequently Asked Questions about Cass Lake-Bena Secondary

What is the racial makeup of Cass Lake-Bena Secondary?

Students at Cass Lake-Bena Secondary are 92% American Indian, 6% White, 1% Hispanic.

How many students attend Cass Lake-Bena Secondary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 263 students attended Cass Lake-Bena Secondary.

What district is Cass Lake-Bena Secondary in?

Cass Lake-Bena Public Schools

Is Cass Lake-Bena Secondary a good school?

Cass Lake-Bena Secondary ranks in the bottom 4.9% of Minnesota high schools.

What schools feed into Cass Lake-Bena Secondary?

Cass Lake-Bena Secondary is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Cass Lake-Bena Elementary
Middle : Cass Lake-Bena Middle School

Rate Cass Lake-Bena Secondary!

Other helpful SchoolDigger resources...

Compare to nearby schools

MNMinnesota High School Rankings

MNMinnesota District Rankings

Schools in Cass Lake, MN

Sign up for updates!

Be the first to know when there is an update for Cass Lake-Bena Secondary!

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Minnesota Department of Education.

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.