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Cowern Elementary

Public Grades PK, KG-5

704^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 872 Minnesota Elementary Schools

Better than 19% of Minnesota elementary schools

Summary

Cowern Elementary is a public elementary school located in North Saint Paul, Minnesota, serving grades PK-5 with a total enrollment of 397 students. The school is part of the North St. Paul-Maplewood Oakdale School District, which is ranked 329 out of 446 districts in Minnesota and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Cowern Elementary consistently ranks in the bottom half of Minnesota elementary schools, with academic performance significantly below the state and district averages. For example, in 2024-2025, only 32.99% of Cowern students were proficient or better in Math, compared to 45.21% statewide and 32.45% in the district. The school's performance is particularly low for certain student subgroups, such as White students and Special Education students, who rank in the bottom 25% of Minnesota elementary schools in these categories. Cowern Elementary has a high percentage of students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds, with 73.3% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, which is higher than the district average.

Cowern Elementary's performance lags behind nearby elementary schools, both within and outside its district. For instance, Castle Elementary and Richardson Elementary, which are also part of the North St. Paul-Maplewood Oakdale School District, rank higher and have better academic performance. Additionally, The Heights Community School, which is in the Saint Paul Public Schools district, outperforms Cowern Elementary in academic metrics, despite serving a higher percentage of students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds.

413

Students ?

16.5

Student/teacher ratio ?

$15,749

Per pupil spending ?

71.9%

Free/discounted lunch ?

2131 N Margaret St
North Saint Paul, MN 55109-8888

(651) 748-6800

District: North St. Paul-Maplewood Oakdale

Students who attend Cowern Elementary usually attend:

High:

North Senior High

Racial breakdown:

Asian:

33.2%

African American:

21.1%

White:

19.6%

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Compare Cowern Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 36th percentile in 2015 → 19th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Minnesota average (31% vs 47% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (19th percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 17 percentile points since 2015

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school31%

District avg34%

Minnesota avg47%

704^th of 872

Minnesota public elementary schools ?

Bottom 19%▼ down 17 pts since 2015

From bottom 36% (2015) to bottom 19% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Minnesota Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

5^th of 6Elementary Schools in the North St. Paul-Maplewood Oakdale

329^th of 446North St. Paul-Maplewood Oakdale 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	21.7	704 of 872	19.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	17.9	740 of 881	16.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	23.6	668 of 845	20.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	37.2	605 of 858	29.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	32.2	646 of 869	25.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	44.6	574 of 870	34.0%	★★☆☆☆
2018	43.6	569 of 847	32.8%	★★☆☆☆
2017	48.0	533 of 853	37.5%	★★☆☆☆
2016	48.5	525 of 848	38.1%	★★☆☆☆
2015	48.0	535 of 840	36.3%	★★☆☆☆
2014	51.9	475 of 826	42.5%	★★☆☆☆
2013	46.6	527 of 824	36.0%	★★☆☆☆
2012	60.6	392 of 820	52.2%	★★★☆☆
2011	63.2	346 of 814	57.5%	★★★☆☆
2010	42.3	590 of 803	26.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	51.4	255 of 434	41.2%	★★☆☆☆
2008	59.2	369 of 781	52.8%	★★★☆☆
2007	47.6	509 of 777	34.5%	★★☆☆☆
2006	60.6	331 of 756	56.2%	★★★☆☆
2005	46.3	459 of 685	33.0%	★★☆☆☆
2004	59.4	307 of 676	54.6%	★★★☆☆
2003	37.0	513 of 674	23.9%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	42.4	167 of 298	44.0%	★★☆☆☆
2024	34.7	201 of 310	35.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	58.9	94 of 279	66.3%	★★★☆☆
2022	71.3	65 of 282	77.0%	★★★★☆
2018	48.1	146 of 266	45.1%	★★☆☆☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	16.9	122 of 140	12.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	21.9	122 of 154	20.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	28.3	86 of 128	32.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	36.7	73 of 131	44.3%	★★☆☆☆
2019	34.5	87 of 136	36.0%	★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	43.1	153 of 303	49.5%	★★★☆☆
2024	52.1	109 of 303	64.0%	★★★☆☆
2023	44.1	145 of 276	47.5%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	12.7	703 of 799	12.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	9.5	742 of 809	8.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	12.6	691 of 787	12.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	32.8	584 of 799	26.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	23.2	632 of 783	19.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	23.1	649 of 787	17.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	32.5	597 of 774	22.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2019	56.8	84 of 219	61.6%	★★★☆☆
2018	62.2	66 of 220	70.0%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	27.9	605 of 764	20.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	20.9	668 of 793	15.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	32.9	557 of 774	28.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	43.0	395 of 663	40.4%	★★☆☆☆
2021	53.2	326 of 683	52.3%	★★★☆☆
2019	40.3	490 of 740	33.8%	★★☆☆☆
2018	41.9	483 of 728	33.7%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	31.4	608 of 812	25.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	28.7	632 of 826	23.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	35.6	565 of 799	29.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	40.2	557 of 808	31.1%	★★☆☆☆
2021	37.6	558 of 784	28.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	60.3	370 of 798	53.6%	★★★☆☆
2018	51.8	442 of 779	43.3%	★★☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2023	21.8	66 of 77	14.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	47.7	48 of 87	44.8%	★★☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	20.0	494 of 562	12.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	31.7	411 of 572	28.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	68.6	122 of 524	76.7%	★★★★☆
2021	88.1	19 of 417	95.4%	★★★★★
2019	49.5	280 of 515	45.6%	★★☆☆☆
2018	29.4	341 of 463	26.3%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	19.4	641 of 714	10.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	11.4	699 of 730	4.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	15.1	659 of 712	7.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	31.1	570 of 725	21.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	15.9	666 of 710	6.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	45.8	433 of 722	40.0%	★★☆☆☆
2018	41.2	469 of 712	34.1%	★★☆☆☆

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)

Hispanic (2019)62nd percentile+28 vs school

English Language Learner (2025)50th percentile+30 vs school

African American (2025)44th percentile+25 vs school

Male (2025)25th percentile+6 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)21st percentile~ school

Multi-racial (2023)14th percentile-7 vs school

Asian (2025)13th percentile-6 vs school

Special Education (2025)12th percentile-7 vs school

Female (2025)12th percentile-7 vs school

White (2025)10th percentile-9 vs school

By subject vs Minnesota (2024-2025) ?

Math33%-12 vs state

Reading30%-20 vs state

★

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Schools Near Cowern Elementary

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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 3rd Grade	MCA-III Math 4th Grade	MCA-III Math 5th Grade	MCA-III Math 6th Grade	MCA-III Math All Grades	MCA-III Reading 3rd Grade	MCA-III Reading 4th Grade	MCA-III Reading 5th Grade	MCA-III Reading 6th Grade	MCA-III Reading All Grades	Total
Cowern Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2131 N Margaret St	North Saint Paul	55109	Ramsey County	North St. Paul-Maplewood Oakdale	No	No	No	Yes	(651) 748-6800	413	25	16.5	71.9%	81 (19.6%)	87 (21.1%)	57 (13.8%)	137 (33.2%)	2 (0.5%)	2 (0.5%)	47 (11.4%)	21.7	704^th of 872 public elementary schools	19.3%		17.9	740^th of 881 public elementary schools	16.0%	36	39.7	22.8	34.8		33.0	23.5	25.0	40.0		29.9	$15,749
North Metro Flex Academy	Public, Charter	K-6	2350 Helen St N	North Saint Paul	55109	Ramsey County	North Metro Flex Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(651) 300-6300	146	12	11.7	77.4%	37 (25.3%)	52 (35.6%)	34 (23.3%)	7 (4.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (11.0%)	20.7	709^th of 872 public elementary schools	18.7%		20.9	718^th of 881 public elementary schools	18.5%	9	25.0	36.8	22.2	20.7	25.5	14.3	31.6	38.9	44.8	31.9	$15,422
Justice Alan Page Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	2410 Holloway Ave E	Maplewood	55109	Ramsey County	North St. Paul-Maplewood Oakdale	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(651) 748-6600	804	53	15.2	71.4%	154 (19.2%)	171 (21.3%)	135 (16.8%)	246 (30.6%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	97 (12.1%)	16.5	739^th of 872 public elementary schools	15.3%		13.5	771^st of 881 public elementary schools	12.5%	32	25.8	42.3	20.9		29.1	16.5	28.8	33.1		26.2
622 Online Elementary School	Public	K-5	2170 7th Ave E	North Saint Paul	55109	Ramsey County	North St. Paul-Maplewood Oakdale	No	No	No	No	(651) 748-7610	0	10	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Richardson Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2400 17th Ave E	North Saint Paul	55109	Ramsey County	North St. Paul-Maplewood Oakdale	No	No	No	Yes	(651) 748-6900	654	42	15.6	73.1%	95 (14.5%)	101 (15.4%)	76 (11.6%)	300 (45.9%)	4 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	78 (11.9%)	17.5	732^nd of 872 public elementary schools	16.1%		21	717^th of 881 public elementary schools	18.6%	15	35.5	27.6	27.3		30.2	20.4	23.8	41.6		27.6	$13,758
Castle Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	6675 50th St N	Oakdale	55128	Washington County	North St. Paul-Maplewood Oakdale	No	No	No	Yes	(651) 748-6700	630	37	16.8	64.8%	172 (27.3%)	104 (16.5%)	125 (19.8%)	174 (27.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	55 (8.7%)	28.7	659^th of 872 public elementary schools	24.4%		42	567^th of 881 public elementary schools	35.6%	92	37.0	40.5	28.2		35.3	30.5	37.5	44.9		37.5	$14,340
The Heights Community School	Public	PK, KG-5	1863 Clear Ave E	Saint Paul	55119	Ramsey County	Saint Paul Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(651) 293-8815	346	32	10.6	84.7%	32 (9.2%)	69 (19.9%)	76 (22.0%)	139 (40.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	30 (8.7%)	6.6	821^st of 872 public elementary schools	5.8%		11.8	781^st of 881 public elementary schools	11.4%	40	26.1	21.4	8.8		19.7	10.4	11.9	29.4		16.1	$16,687
Weaver Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2135 Birmingham St	Maplewood	55109	Ramsey County	North St. Paul-Maplewood Oakdale	No	No	No	Yes	(651) 748-7000	442	27	16.1	71.5%	99 (22.4%)	44 (10.0%)	54 (12.2%)	195 (44.1%)	3 (0.7%)	2 (0.5%)	45 (10.2%)	34.1	604^th of 872 public elementary schools	30.7%		29.7	656^th of 881 public elementary schools	25.5%	52	62.0	37.7	27.2		39.5	46.9	30.4	39.8		38.3	$12,024
Frost Lake Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1505 Hoyt Ave E	Saint Paul	55106	Ramsey County	Saint Paul Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(651) 293-8930	593	45	13.1	84.1%	33 (5.6%)	101 (17.0%)	108 (18.2%)	302 (50.9%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	48 (8.1%)	7.8	811^th of 872 public elementary schools	7.0%		5.5	837^th of 881 public elementary schools	5.0%	26	24.3	11.5	6.7		13.7	22.9	12.6	36.0		22.6	$17,828
Sejong Academy Lower School	Public, Charter	PK, KG-5	2410 Stillwater Rd E	Maplewood	55119	Ramsey County	Sejong Academy of Minnesota	Yes	No	No	Yes	(651) 301-8722	196	17	11.6	85.2%	2 (1.0%)	2 (1.0%)	2 (1.0%)	182 (92.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (4.1%)	24.5	686^th of 872 public elementary schools	21.3%		24.9	690^th of 881 public elementary schools	21.7%	4	60.0	28.6	9.7		32.9	40.0	23.8	19.4		28.1	$14,569

Frequently Asked Questions about Cowern Elementary

Is Cowern Elementary a good school?

Cowern Elementary ranks in the bottom 19.3% of Minnesota elementary schools.

What is the racial makeup of Cowern Elementary?

Students at Cowern Elementary are 33% Asian, 21% African American, 20% White, 14% Hispanic, 11% Two or more races.

How many students attend Cowern Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 413 students attended Cowern Elementary.

What district is Cowern Elementary in?

North St. Paul-Maplewood Oakdale

What schools do graduates of Cowern Elementary attend?

Students who attend Cowern Elementary usually go on to attend:

High : North Senior High

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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.