Summary:
Ashby Public School District in Minnesota is a small, two-school district serving 315 students: Ashby Elementary for grades PK–6 (178 students) and Ashby Secondary for grades 7–12 (137 students). The district overall ranks 112 of 458 schools, placing it in the 76th percentile with 4 stars — but the two schools tell very different stories.
Ashby Elementary is the standout, ranking 174 of 869 schools (80th percentile, 4 stars) and climbing steadily from the 57th percentile three years ago. Its all-grade math proficiency is 67.7% and reading 65.3%, both well above the district (58.9% and 59.5%) and the state (44.9% and 48.6%). Every elementary math and reading grade level tested above state, led by 4th-grade math at 81.3% and 5th-grade reading at 69.2%. The clear weak spot is science: 15.4% versus 25.5% statewide, down sharply from 33.33% the prior year.
Ashby Secondary has improved too, from the 21st to the 47th percentile (rank 250 of 473, 2 stars), but remains mid-pack. Its math (46.3%) and reading (52.6%) beat state averages while trailing the district, and science (20.0%) falls below state. Middle grades are strong — 7th-grade reading is 72.7% versus 43.5% statewide — while high-school grades lag, such as 11th-grade math at 26.3% versus 35.3%. Most concerning, the graduation rate is 75.0% against the state's 84.9%, and the dropout rate of 12.5% is nearly three times the state's 4.2%. Poverty levels (33.15% and 35.04% free/reduced lunch) and student-teacher ratios (11.2 and 11.6) are similar at both schools, so they don't explain the gap. With small cohorts, year-to-year swings should be read with caution.
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