Summary:
Karlstad, Minnesota has two public schools — Karlstad Elementary (PK–6, 96 students) and Tri-County Secondary (grades 7–12, 83 students) — both part of the Tri-County School District, for a combined enrollment of 179 students. The area reports one elementary and one high school, with middle-grade students served inside the secondary building. The district is rated 3 stars and ranks 200th of 458 Minnesota districts (56th percentile), but that overall rating hides a sharp gap between the two schools.
Tri-County Secondary is the standout strength. It ranked 70th of 473 schools in 2025–26 (85th percentile, 4 stars), after 81st percentile in 2024–25 and 90th percentile (5 stars) in 2023–24. Its 2024–25 graduation rate was 100.0% versus the state's 84.9%, and its dropout rate 0.0% versus the state's 4.2%. In 2025–26, all-grade math was 50% (state 44.9%) and reading 53.3% (state 48.6%). Seventh-grade reading was 63.6% versus the state's 43.5%, and 11th-grade math 54.5% versus 35.3%. It achieves this with a higher free/reduced lunch rate than the elementary school (51.81% vs. 47.92%) and a lower student-teacher ratio (10.6 vs. 14.2).
Karlstad Elementary is the concern: it fell from 52nd percentile (3 stars) in 2023–24 to 36th percentile in 2024–25 and 21st percentile (1 star) in 2025–26. Its 2025–26 all-grade reading was 34.7% versus the state's 48.6%, and math dropped from 50% in 2024–25 to 40% in 2025–26. Fourth-grade reading was 23.1% and third-grade reading 21.4%, against state figures of 48.8% and 46.8%. Science is suppressed by the state in several grades. With such small enrollments, a few students can move percentages substantially, so trends should be read with caution.
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