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Best Public Schools in Cass County, MN

At a glance

Schools

4,570

Students

Districts

Top rankedPillager Elementary315^th of 872 Minnesota elementary schools

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Biggest riser

Pine River-Backus Elementary up 155 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Northland Elementary 8 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

3★

2★

1★

0★

5 schools without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				MCA-III Math (2025)								MCA-III Reading (2025)								Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	MCA-III Math 3rd Grade	MCA-III Math 4th Grade	MCA-III Math 5th Grade	MCA-III Math 6th Grade	MCA-III Math 7th Grade	MCA-III Math 8th Grade	MCA-III Math 11th Grade	MCA-III Math All Grades	MCA-III Reading 3rd Grade	MCA-III Reading 4th Grade	MCA-III Reading 5th Grade	MCA-III Reading 6th Grade	MCA-III Reading 7th Grade	MCA-III Reading 8th Grade	MCA-III Reading 10th Grade	MCA-III Reading All Grades	Total
Central Lakes Adventure School	Public, Charter	7-12	12763 County Road 1 SW	Pillager	56473	Cass County	Central Lakes Adventure School	Yes	No	No	Yes	(218) 746-3875	36	0	13.2	63.9%	31 (86.1%)	1 (2.8%)	3 (8.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (2.8%)								(n/a)																	$16,007
Up North Learning Center	Public, Alternative	K-12	5413 County Road 37 NW	Walker	56484	Cass County	Up North Learning Center	No	No	No	No	(218) 547-6525	13	3	4.8	69.2%	7 (53.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (38.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (7.7%)								(n/a)								30.0								18.2
W.H.A. Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	205 Highland Ave W	Walker	56484	Cass County	Walker-Hackensack-Akeley School District	No	No	No	Yes	(218) 547-4261	369	33	11.0	61.8%	198 (53.7%)	1 (0.3%)	12 (3.3%)	5 (1.4%)	101 (27.4%)	3 (0.8%)	49 (13.3%)	31.4	632^nd of 872 public elementary schools	27.5%		31.2	645^th of 881 public elementary schools	26.8%	13	58.0	41.7	25.0	12.5				34.8	38.0	36.7	41.2	37.5				38.3	$13,346
Walker-Hackensack-Akeley Sec.	Public	7-12	301 4th St	Walker	56484	Cass County	Walker-Hackensack-Akeley School District	No	No	No	No	(218) 547-5322	317	26	12.2	48.9%	206 (65.0%)	3 (0.9%)	11 (3.5%)	0 (0.0%)	71 (22.4%)	1 (0.3%)	25 (7.9%)	24.9	361^st of 450 public high schools	19.8%		36.5	327^th of 480 public high schools	31.9%	34					34.0	21.3	14.6	24.1					35.9	31.9	34.0	34.0	$14,570
Cass Lake-Bena Elementary	Public	PK, KG-4	15 4th St NW	Cass Lake	56633	Cass County	Cass Lake-Bena Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(218) 335-2201	450	45	10.1	85.3%	9 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	425 (94.4%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (1.8%)	18.2	725^th of 872 public elementary schools	16.9%		23.7	699^th of 881 public elementary schools	20.7%	26	33.7	37.5						35.6	24.1	27.5						25.8	$19,545
Cass Lake-Bena Secondary	Public	9-12	15308 State 371 NW	Cass Lake	56633	Cass County	Cass Lake-Bena Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(218) 335-2203	263	22	11.7	75.7%	16 (6.1%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	243 (92.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	7.8	428^th of 450 public high schools	4.9%		12	425^th of 480 public high schools	11.5%	3							2.1	2.1							19.6	19.6	$25,363
Cass Lake-Bena Area Learning Cntr.	Public	7-12	208 Central Ave NW	Cass Lake	56633	Cass County	Cass Lake-Bena Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(218) 335-2204	94	8	11.9	79.8%	4 (4.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	90 (95.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4.5	447^th of 450 public high schools	0.7%		10.9	433^rd of 480 public high schools	9.8%	14							0.0	0.0							7.7	5.0	$21,734
Cass Lake-Bena Middle School	Public	5-8	15314 State 371 NW	Cass Lake	56633	Cass County	Cass Lake-Bena Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(218) 335-2203	312	30	10.5	77.9%	13 (4.2%)	1 (0.3%)	4 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	294 (94.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7.2	494^th of 519 public middle schools	4.8%		11.1	501^st of 545 public middle schools	8.1%	7			14.6	1.2	5.1	11.9		8.2			22.6	14.0	11.7	27.6		18.8	$22,279
Pillager Elementary	Public	PK, KG-4	323 E 2nd St S	Pillager	56473	Cass County	Pillager Public School District	No	No	No	Yes	(218) 746-2110	521	40	12.9	41.5%	488 (93.7%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (4.6%)	65.8	315^th of 872 public elementary schools	63.9%		63.6	329^th of 881 public elementary schools	62.7%	14	57.1	66.7						61.7	46.7	57.3						51.7	$11,169
Pillager Senior High School	Public	9-12	323 E 2nd St S	Pillager	56473	Cass County	Pillager Public School District	No	No	No	No	(218) 746-2117	370	22	17.1	32.2%	339 (91.6%)	7 (1.9%)	12 (3.2%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (2.7%)	50.9	251^st of 450 public high schools	44.2%		56.3	227^th of 480 public high schools	52.7%	24							38.8	38.8							37.4	37.4	$12,067
Pillager Middle School	Public	5-8	323 E 2nd St S	Pillager	56473	Cass County	Pillager Public School District	No	No	No	No	(218) 746-3772	433	26	16.8	37.0%	395 (91.2%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (3.0%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (5.3%)	62	174^th of 519 public middle schools	66.5%		55.2	236^th of 545 public middle schools	56.7%	62			49.5	42.0	37.4	44.9		43.5			60.2	67.0	41.1	40.2		51.9	$8,860
Pine River-Backus Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	401 Murray Ave	Pine River	56474	Cass County	Pine River-Backus School District	No	No	No	Yes	(218) 587-4447	478	37	12.8	68.0%	429 (89.7%)	2 (0.4%)	14 (2.9%)	3 (0.6%)	4 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (5.4%)	59.7	375^th of 872 public elementary schools	57.0%		46.9	530^th of 881 public elementary schools	39.8%	155	71.2	57.9	28.8	26.0				45.1	62.7	50.9	57.5	60.0				57.7	$11,652
Pine River-Backus High School	Public	7-12	810 1st St N	Pine River	56474	Cass County	Pine River-Backus School District	No	No	No	No	(218) 587-4425	371	26	14.2	56.1%	346 (93.3%)	1 (0.3%)	6 (1.6%)	5 (1.3%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (3.0%)	24.7	362^nd of 450 public high schools	19.6%		25.2	373^rd of 480 public high schools	22.3%	11					24.3	28.6	11.5	21.9					29.4	41.1	36.4	35.2	$11,954
Pine River-Backus ALP	Public	9-12	1000 1st St N	Pine River	56474	Cass County	Pine River-Backus School District	No	No	No	No	(218) 587-3131	57	2	23.8	57.9%	53 (93.0%)	2 (3.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.8%)								(n/a)							0.0	0.0									$18,186
Northland Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	316 Main St E	Remer	56672	Cass County	Northland Community Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(218) 566-2351	185	23	8.0	77.3%	108 (58.4%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (3.2%)	0 (0.0%)	67 (36.2%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (2.2%)	16.1	744^th of 872 public elementary schools	14.7%		12.3	777^th of 881 public elementary schools	11.8%	33	18.2	21.6	22.7					21.0	33.3	21.1	45.5					30.9	$18,653
Northland Secondary	Public	6-12	316 Main St E	Remer	56672	Cass County	Northland Community Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(218) 566-2351	149	11	13.4	71.8%	77 (51.7%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	69 (46.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.7%)	49.6	257^th of 450 public high schools	42.9%		20.9	388^th of 480 public high schools	19.2%	131				11.8	19.2	6.7	11.8	13.3				29.4	15.4	31.3	64.3	31.5	$24,323
Little Sand	Public	7-12	316 Main St E	Remer	56672	Cass County	Northland Community Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(218) 566-2351	10	1	11.7	70.0%	8 (80.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (10.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (10.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)																	$17,342
Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School	Public, Alternative	K-12	15353 Silver Eagle Dr NW	Bena	56626	Cass County	Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School	(n/a)	No	No	Yes	(218) 665-3000	142	3	47.3	97.9%	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	142 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)

SchoolDigger rankings lists for Minnesota:

Elementary Schools Middle Schools High Schools Districts Cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Minnesota Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.