Best Public Schools in Ponemah, MN

Ponemah, Minnesota has one school in this data set: Ponemah Elementary, a PK–8 school with 136 students in the Red Lake Public School District, and it is the only city school represented here. Because there is only one school, parents cannot compare it with another Ponemah school; comparisons are to the district and Minnesota state averages. The available context shows 88.24% of students were eligible for free/reduced lunch in 2024–2025 and the student–teacher ratio was 6.9.

The school has ranked near the bottom of Minnesota schools for three straight years: 868 of 869 in 2025–2026, 857 of 872 in 2024–2025, and 861 of 881 in 2023–2024, placing it in roughly the bottom 0–2 percentile with 0 stars each year. In 2025–2026, all-grade proficiency was 7.4% in math, 10% in reading, and 0% in science. That compares with district rates of 5.1% in math, 11.4% in reading, and 3.7% in science, and state rates of 44.9% in math, 48.6% in reading, and 25.5% in science. Math is a relative strength against the district but remains far below the state. From 2024–2025 to 2025–2026, math rose from 5.19% to 7.4% and reading rose from 9.09% to 10%, while science stayed at 0%.

Grade-level results show one clear bright spot: 8th grade reading was 35.7% proficient, above the school’s all-grade reading rate of 10% and the district’s 8th grade rate of 15.8%, though below the state 8th grade average of 50%. Also above district levels were 8th grade math at 14.3% and 7th grade math at 11.8%, but both remained below state averages. Several tested grades reported 0% in 2025–2026: math 5th grade; reading 4th, 5th, and 7th grades; and science 5th and 8th grades. Sixth grade math and reading are suppressed and should be treated as unknown. Science is the weakest and most consistent finding, with 0% all-grade proficiency in both years. The high free/reduced-lunch rate and low student–teacher ratio suggest a small, high-need student population with relatively small classes, but these data do not establish cause and effect with proficiency outcomes.