STEP Academy

STEP Academy is a four-school Minnesota district serving roughly 847 students across two campuses — one in Saint Paul and one in Burnsville — with two K–5 elementary schools, one 6–10 middle school, and one 6–12 high school. As a whole, STEP Academy ranks 368th of 458 Minnesota districts, in the 20th percentile with 1 star. Nearly every student qualifies for free or reduced lunch, from 92.08% at the high school to 98.83% at Burnsville Elementary.

The clearest bright spot is STEP Academy Charter School, the 6–12 campus. Its all-grade reading proficiency is 40.4%, above the district's 35.1% (state: 48.6%), and 10th-grade reading is 47.8%, above the state's 42.5%. It reports a 95.3% graduation rate and 1.5% dropout rate, both better than state averages, and improved from 13th percentile / 1 star in 2022–2023 to 48th percentile / 2 stars in 2025–2026. STEP Academy Kg-5th - Burnsville posted the district's highest all-grade math at 23.1%, with 4th grade at 60% math and 60% reading, both above state averages.

Math and science are the district's main weaknesses: math is 13.8% districtwide versus 44.9% statewide, science 11.9% versus 25.5%, and reading 35.1% versus 48.6%. STEP Academy 6-12 - Burnsville has reading at 35.3%, but only 9% math and 7.9% science, plus the highest student-teacher ratio at 24.7. STEP Academy Elementary leads in science at 18.8% and 3rd-grade math at 55.6% versus the state's 57.9%. Reported 0% results include Saint Paul Elementary's 4th-grade reading and 5th-grade math, Burnsville Elementary's 5th-grade math and science and all-grade science, and Burnsville Middle's 8th-grade science. Elementary ratios are lower (11.2 and 12.8) yet outcomes remain mixed, and reading declined at all four schools year over year.