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Cass Lake-Bena Middle School

Public Grades 5-8

494^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 519 Minnesota Middle Schools

Better than 5% of Minnesota middle schools

Summary

Cass Lake-Bena Middle School is a public middle school serving grades 5-8 in Cass Lake, Minnesota, with 303 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 Middle School consistently performs significantly below the state average on MCA-III assessments in both math and reading. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, only 8.16% of students were proficient or better in math compared to the state average of 45.21%, and only 18.75% were proficient or better in reading compared to the state average of 49.59%. The school's performance is particularly low for certain student subgroups, such as ranking 45th out of 50 Minnesota middle schools for Native American students and 224th out of 265 for special education students in math proficiency. Additionally, Cass Lake-Bena Middle School has an extremely high percentage of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 69.54% in 2021-2022 to 84.59% in 2022-2023, indicating a high level of economic disadvantage among the student population.

In comparison, the nearby Bemidji Middle and Voyageurs Expeditionary Middle School perform significantly better than Cass Lake-Bena Middle School on academic measures, despite serving similar student populations. This highlights the potential for improvement at Cass Lake-Bena Middle School if effective practices and strategies from higher-performing schools are implemented. Addressing the school's challenges will require a comprehensive, data-driven approach that focuses on improving instructional practices, providing targeted support for struggling students, and addressing the underlying socioeconomic factors that contribute to the school's difficulties.

312

Students ?

10.5

Student/teacher ratio ?

$22,279

Per pupil spending ?

77.9%

Free/discounted lunch ?

15314 State 371 NW
Cass Lake, MN 56633-3373

(218) 335-2203

District: Cass Lake-Bena Public Schools

Students who attend Cass Lake-Bena Middle School usually attend:

High:

Cass Lake-Bena Secondary

Feeder schools for Cass Lake-Bena Middle School:

Elementary:

Cass Lake-Bena Elementary

Racial breakdown:

American Indian:

94.2%

White:

4.2%

Hispanic:

1.3%

See top rated Minnesota middle schools

Compare Cass Lake-Bena Middle School to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 6th percentile in 2015 → 5th in 2025

Strengths

✓Small classes — about 10 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Minnesota average (14% vs 47% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (5th percentile)

!Math scores 37 pts below the Minnesota average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school14%

District avg18%

Minnesota avg47%

494^th of 519

Minnesota public middle schools ?

Bottom 5%▼ down 1 pts since 2015

See the entire ranking list of Minnesota Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

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	7.2	494 of 519	4.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	11.1	501 of 545	8.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	8.3	498 of 529	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	6.6	494 of 520	5.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	9.0	483 of 521	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	13.7	468 of 533	12.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	5.5	480 of 518	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	4.7	490 of 523	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	4.7	476 of 508	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	5.2	484 of 516	6.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2014	6.4	455 of 490	7.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	7.8	450 of 488	7.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	9.6	426 of 469	9.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2011	14.8	423 of 478	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	24.7	390 of 454	14.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	28.1	196 of 230	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	28.7	346 of 409	15.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	25.1	347 of 403	13.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	20.5	362 of 406	10.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	23.1	344 of 396	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	19.1	334 of 387	13.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	7.9	425 of 450	5.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	8.0	448 of 474	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	8.7	426 of 455	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	8.2	439 of 467	6.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	9.5	414 of 443	6.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	17.1	389 of 439	11.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	4.2	419 of 436	3.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	11.2	411 of 432	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	17.6	421 of 473	11.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	15.1	419 of 459	8.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	11.7	388 of 404	4.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	19.8	351 of 399	12.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	23.7	342 of 415	17.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	11.7	372 of 401	7.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	6.0	437 of 452	3.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	11.5	440 of 479	8.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	7.5	439 of 464	5.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	5.1	466 of 476	2.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	8.1	416 of 437	4.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	10.1	415 of 454	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	5.1	416 of 438	5.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Native American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	16.5	45 of 50	10.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	23.9	46 of 55	16.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	25.2	40 of 49	18.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	27.2	18 of 22	18.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	29.1	15 of 18	16.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	49.3	9 of 23	60.9%	★★★★☆
2018	30.4	16 of 23	30.4%	★★☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	24.6	224 of 265	15.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	32.1	222 of 307	27.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	26.9	236 of 298	20.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	19.5	253 of 288	12.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	30.8	198 of 260	23.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	36.8	186 of 282	34.0%	★★☆☆☆
2018	13.3	239 of 253	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

Special Education (2025)15th percentile+11 vs school

Native American (2025)10th percentile+5 vs school

Female (2025)6th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)5th percentile~ school

Male (2025)3rd percentile~ school

By subject vs Minnesota (2024-2025) ?

Reading19%-31 vs state

Math8%-37 vs state

★

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Schools Near Cass Lake-Bena Middle School

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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 5th Grade	MCA-III Math 6th Grade	MCA-III Math 7th Grade	MCA-III Math 8th Grade	MCA-III Math All Grades	MCA-III Reading 5th Grade	MCA-III Reading 6th Grade	MCA-III Reading 7th Grade	MCA-III Reading 8th Grade	MCA-III Reading All Grades	Total
Cass Lake-Bena Middle School	Public	5-8	15314 State 371 NW	Cass Lake	56633	Cass County	Cass Lake-Bena Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(218) 335-2203	312	30	10.5	77.9%	13 (4.2%)	1 (0.3%)	4 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	294 (94.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7.2	494^th of 519 public middle schools	4.8%		11.1	501^st of 545 public middle schools	8.1%	7	14.6	1.2	5.1	11.9	8.2	22.6	14.0	11.7	27.6	18.8	$22,279
Laporte Middle School	Public	6-8	315 Main St W	Laporte	56461	Hubbard County	Laporte Public School District	No	No	No	No	(218) 224-2288	80	7	10.7	60.0%	65 (81.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (13.8%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (3.8%)	27.9	400^th of 519 public middle schools	22.9%		23.6	439^th of 545 public middle schools	19.4%	39		27.6	10.3	23.8	20.3		44.8	24.1	38.1	35.4
Voyageurs Expeditionary Middle School	Public, Charter	6-8	3724 Bemidji Ave N	Bemidji	56601	Beltrami County	Voyageurs Expeditionary	Yes	No	No	Yes	(218) 444-3130	44	0	41.1	84.1%	9 (20.5%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (9.1%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (54.5%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (15.9%)	10.3	481^st of 519 public middle schools	7.3%		4.7	535^th of 545 public middle schools	1.8%	54		7.7	6.7	8.3	7.5		41.7	6.7	16.7	20.5	$9,534
Trek North Middle School	Public, Charter	6-8	2400 Pine Ridge Ave NW	Bemidji	56601	Beltrami County	Treknorth High School	Yes	No	No	Yes	(218) 444-1888	109	9	12.1	67.0%	40 (36.7%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (9.2%)	0 (0.0%)	46 (42.2%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (11.9%)	22.6	419^th of 519 public middle schools	19.3%		26.8	423^rd of 545 public middle schools	22.4%	4		10.3	19.4	11.1	13.5		35.9	36.1	34.3	35.5	$11,409
Bemidji Middle Alp	Public	6-8	1910 Middle School Ave NW	Bemidji	56601	Beltrami County	Bemidji Public School District	No	No	No	No	(218) 333-3215	1	3	.3		0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (100.0%)								(n/a)											$13,280
Bemidji Middle	Public	6-8	1910 Middle School Ave NW	Bemidji	56601	Beltrami County	Bemidji Public School District	No	No	No	No	(218) 333-3215	967	62	15.6	40.1%	673 (69.6%)	10 (1.0%)	18 (1.9%)	5 (0.5%)	236 (24.4%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (2.6%)	67.2	148^th of 519 public middle schools	71.5%		67.7	152^nd of 545 public middle schools	72.1%	4		43.0	44.2	45.1	44.1		53.4	48.1	49.0	50.1	$12,338

Frequently Asked Questions about Cass Lake-Bena Middle School

What district is Cass Lake-Bena Middle School in?

Cass Lake-Bena Public Schools

Is Cass Lake-Bena Middle School a good school?

Cass Lake-Bena Middle School ranks in the bottom 4.8% of Minnesota middle schools.

What high school do graduates of Cass Lake-Bena Middle School attend?

Students who attend Cass Lake-Bena Middle School usually go on to attend Cass Lake-Bena Secondary

What is the racial makeup of Cass Lake-Bena Middle School?

Students at Cass Lake-Bena Middle School are 94% American Indian, 4% White, 1% Hispanic.

How many students attend Cass Lake-Bena Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 312 students attended Cass Lake-Bena Middle School.

Rate Cass Lake-Bena Middle School!

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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.