Summary:
Rushford, Minnesota is home to three public schools — Rushford-Peterson Elementary (PK–5), Rushford-Peterson Middle (6–8), and Rushford-Peterson Senior High (9–12) — all part of the Rushford-Peterson Public Schools district, together serving 648 students in a small southeastern Minnesota community.
Each school has its own strengths. Elementary is the math and science leader: 50.0% of students are proficient in math, above the district's 43.2% and the state's 44.9%, and its science score of 30.4% also beats both. Its reading score of 44.8% is just under district and state, with 3rd grade reading at 33.3% compared with the state's 46.8%. Middle school is the reading leader at 49.7%, above district and state, with especially strong 8th grade reading at 58.0%. But middle school science is the most concerning result in this data: 5.9% proficient, far below the district's 21.1% and the state's 25.5%. Senior High stands out for completion outcomes — a 94.3% graduation rate and a 0.0% dropout rate, both far better than the state's 84.9% and 4.2% — even though its math (32.8%) and reading (37.0%) proficiency trail both district and state.
Rank trends have mostly slipped. Elementary moved from the 73rd to the 60th to the 51st percentile, and the high school from the 60th to the 52nd to the 47th, now at 2 stars. Middle school peaked at the 77th percentile last year before settling at the 60th. All three schools declined in math and reading year over year, generally more than the state did. The district overall sits at the 55th percentile with 3 stars; middle school is currently above that, while elementary and high school are below. With only three schools, differences in poverty and staffing — elementary has the highest free/reduced lunch rate (36.84%) but also the lowest student-teacher ratio (11.2) — are descriptive patterns rather than firm conclusions.
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