Venture Academy

Venture Academy is a small two-school district in Minneapolis, Minnesota, serving grades 6 through 12 on one shared campus at 315 27th Ave SE, with 289 students total — 199 at Venture Academy High School (grades 9–12) and 90 at Venture Academy Middle School (grades 6–8).

Both schools sit near the bottom of Minnesota's rankings, and the district itself is ranked 453 of 458 statewide, at the 1st percentile, with 0 stars. The high school is the stronger of the two: it ranked 453 of 473 in 2025–2026 (4th percentile), and its best recent year was 423 of 450 in 2024–2025 (6th percentile). The middle school ranked 545 of 546 in 2025–2026, at the 0th percentile, meaning only one ranked middle school was lower — and it has now been at the 0th percentile for three straight years (544 of 545, 517 of 519, and 545 of 546). In 2025–2026, both schools report 0% math proficiency at all grades, against a state average of 44.9%. The high school's reading proficiency is 13.8% (state: 48.6%) and science is 4.5%, while the middle school's reading is 5.1% and science is 0%. The high school also reports a 61.4% graduation rate (state: 84.9%) and a 10.5% dropout rate (state: 4.2%).

There are a few bright spots worth noting. The middle school's 6th grade reading proficiency of 18.2% is its highest grade-level result, though the state average there is 53.4%. High school reading rose slightly from 12.5% to 13.8% year over year, even as math fell from 7.32% to 0% and science from 10.34% to 4.5%; reading comparisons across years should be made cautiously because the exam label changed. Both schools report 100% free/reduced lunch in 2024–2025, and student-teacher ratios are 7.1 at the middle school and 9 at the high school.