Summary:
The Brainerd Public School District in Minnesota includes two high schools serving grades 8–12 and 9–12, together enrolling 1,971 students across a large comprehensive high school and a much smaller learning center.
Brainerd Senior High is the larger school by far, with 1,805 students — about 91.6% of the two-school total. It stands out for a 93.9% graduation rate, well above the district's 86.1% and the state's 84.9%, and a 1.0% dropout rate, lower than both the district's 1.4% and the state's 4.2%. Science proficiency of 36.3% also exceeds the district's 26.2% and the state's 25.5%. Its math (35.6%) and reading (38.6%) scores, however, trail district and state levels. In 2025–26 it ranked 199 of 473, or the 58th percentile with 3 stars, after a dip from the 76th percentile and 4 stars in 2023–24. Its latest test trend was mixed: math fell 5.83 points, reading fell 4.78 points, and science rose 1.1 points.
Independent School District (Isd) 181 Learning Center is much smaller, with 166 students — about 8.4% of the total — and a 2025–26 rank of 422 of 473, or the 11th percentile with 1 star. Its graduation rate is 52.3%, far below district and state levels, while its dropout rate of 3.5% is above the district's 1.4% but below the state's 4.2%. Test proficiency is low across the board: math 5.5%, reading 17.4%, and science 16.7%. It has a higher free/reduced lunch rate (52.41% versus 31.52%) and a lower student-teacher ratio (14.8 versus 19.9). Its math proficiency rose 3.06 points, but reading fell 9.87 points and science was roughly flat. Because it serves grades 8–12, it may serve a different student population, so comparisons should be made carefully. Overall, the district's 2-star rating masks a wide gap between these two schools.
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