Barnes

The four schools in Barnes serve pre-K through grade 12: Hanover Elementary and Linn Elementary serve pre-K–8, while Hanover High and Linn High serve grades 9–12; together, they enroll 518 students. Overall, all four schools are above state results in English and math, but science is the clearest divide: the area average is near the state result while individual school scores vary widely.

Hanover High leads in English and math, with 68% and 84% proficient, respectively, compared with state results of 46% and 41%. Hanover Elementary is also strong in both subjects at 67%. Science has a different leader: Linn Elementary scores 62%, while Linn High scores 14%, a 48-point spread; the state result is 38%. Linn High’s English and math results, 67% and 56%, are above state results, so its low science score is a notable subject-specific weakness. Across the schools, the average advantage over the state is 19 points in English and 24 points in math.

Area averages improved from 2024–25 to 2025–26, rising from 53% to 65% in English and from 55% to 65% in math. But results did not rise everywhere: Linn Elementary fell 16 points in English and 17 in math, while Linn High rose 44 points in English. SchoolDigger’s statewide percentile rankings also shifted sharply: Hanover High rose from 16 to 94, while Linn Elementary fell from 100 to 41. Attendance is another consideration at the high schools: chronic absenteeism is 38% at Hanover High and 40% at Linn High, compared with 17% districtwide. Student–teacher ratios range from 7.6 to 25.7, but they do not consistently identify the strongest results.