Summary:
Exploration High School is the only high school in the Exploration High School district in Minneapolis, MN, serving grades 9–12 with 136 students, so the school and district figures are identical and Minnesota is the only comparison point.
The school's profile is mixed. It is a 1-star school ranked 404 of 458 listed Minnesota high schools (12th percentile), and its rank history slipped from the 21st percentile in 2024-2025 to the 14th percentile in 2025-2026 (405 of 473), remaining at 1 star both years. On completion, however, it edges past the state: an 85.7% graduation rate versus 84.9% statewide, and a 2.0% dropout rate against the state's 4.2%. Test proficiency is where the gaps are largest. In 2025-2026, math proficiency was 11.5% versus 44.9% statewide (−33.4 points), reading was 25% versus 48.6% (−23.6 points), and science was 11.1% versus 25.5% (−14.4 points). The 2024-2025 results show math at 7.14% versus 45.21%, reading at 40% versus 49.59%, and science at 26.67% versus 26.15% — the one subject that was slightly above state that year before falling well below it in 2025-2026. Because the reading exam label changed from MCA-III to MCA-IV between years, that year-over-year reading comparison should be read with caution.
Context matters for interpreting these numbers: 47.79% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch and the student-teacher ratio is 15.1. The all-grades proficiency rows track the specific grades tested, with math matching 11th grade at 11.5%, reading matching 10th grade at 25%, and science matching End of Course at 11.1%. Overall, families should see a small school that completes students at a rate slightly above the state but trails the state substantially in tested proficiency, most sharply in math and science.
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