Summary:
Baxter, Minnesota, has two schools in this data set: Baxter Elementary, a PK–4 school with 506 students, and Forestview Middle, a grades 5–8 school with 1,626 students, both in the Brainerd Public School District, with no high school listed in Baxter.
Both Baxter schools are bright spots compared with their 2-star district, which ranks 249 of 458 schools and sits at the 46th percentile. In 2025–2026, Baxter Elementary ranked 198 of 869 schools, 77th percentile, with 4 stars, and Forestview Middle ranked 130 of 546, 76th percentile, also 4 stars. Baxter Elementary has the strongest overall proficiency profile: math 62.9% and reading 62.0%, above district (46.4% math, 52.0% reading) and state (44.9% math, 48.6% reading). Forestview Middle is strongest in reading at 55.9%, above district and state, but its all-grade science is 21.3%, below district 26.2% and state 25.5%.
Forestview Middle serves more students and has a higher free/reduced-lunch rate, 39.54%, than Baxter Elementary at 31.82%; student-teacher ratios are similar, 15.5 vs. 14.9. Its results vary by grade: 8th-grade math is 52.7% and 8th-grade reading is 60.4%, both 10.4 points above the state, while 6th- and 7th-grade math are slightly below the state. Science is also uneven, with 5th-grade science at 27.7%, above state, and 8th-grade science at 15.6%, below state. Baxter Elementary beats district and state across reported subjects and grade levels, including 3rd-grade math at 70.0% and 4th-grade reading at 64.9%. For parents, both schools perform above the district’s overall rating, but Forestview Middle’s science and middle-grade math are areas to watch, and Baxter’s public coverage ends at grade 8.
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