Best Public Schools in Dawson, MN

The city of Dawson, Minnesota is home to two schools: Stevens Elementary and Dawson-Boyd Secondary, which serve students from elementary through high school. Based on the available data, Stevens Elementary emerges as the standout school in the area, consistently ranking in the top 50% of Minnesota elementary schools and maintaining a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Stevens Elementary boasts higher student proficiency rates in Math and Reading compared to the Dawson-Boyd Public School District and the state of Minnesota averages. In contrast, Dawson-Boyd Secondary has seen a decline in its statewide ranking, dropping from 111th out of 476 Minnesota high schools in 2022-2023 to 300th out of 450 in 2024-2025, and its performance on standardized tests lags behind the district and state averages.

The data also reveals that Stevens Elementary has a lower student-teacher ratio of 12.1, which may contribute to its stronger academic outcomes. While both schools have similar free/reduced lunch rates, indicating comparable socioeconomic factors, the district may want to examine the practices and strategies used at Stevens Elementary to see if they can be replicated at the secondary level to improve the performance of Dawson-Boyd Secondary.