Detroit Lakes Public School District

Detroit Lakes Public School District serves roughly 2,647 students across seven Minnesota schools: two elementary schools (PK–5), one middle school (6–8), and four high school settings (grades 9–12) that include alternative, online, and transition programs. The district ranks 75th of 458 Minnesota districts — the 84th percentile, 4 stars — and beats state averages in all three tested subjects: Math 50% vs. 44.9%, Reading 52.2% vs. 48.6%, and Science 30.9% vs. 25.5%. Those gains are not spread evenly across its schools.

Detroit Lakes Senior High is the strongest large school, ranking 49th of 473 Minnesota high schools (90th percentile, 4 stars) and climbing from 87th → 71st → 49th. Its 90.0% graduation rate tops the district's 85.0% and the state's 84.9%, and its 1.9% dropout rate is far below the district's 4.4%. Proficiency is 53.4% Math, 48.0% Reading, and 51.9% Science — the last more than double the state's 25.5%. Rossman Elementary (185th of 869, 79th percentile, 4 stars) posts 64.2% Math, 57.5% Reading, and 38.0% Science. Roosevelt Elementary (300th of 869, 65th percentile, 3 stars) has improved from 388th → 373rd → 300th, with 59.2% Math, 52.8% Reading, and 25.5% Science, matching the state science average.

Detroit Lakes Middle (189th of 546, 65th percentile, 3 stars) is mixed: Reading is solid at 51.8% and 6th-grade Reading reaches 65.6%, but Math slips to 39.6% and Science to just 10.8%, well below the state's 25.5%. The Detroit Lakes Area Learning Center, serving a small higher-need population, ranks 453rd of 480 (6th percentile, 0 stars) with a 53.1% graduation rate and 25.0% dropout rate. E-Laker Online School (38 students) reports a 95.2% graduation rate and 0.0% dropout rate, and Laker Transitions (17 students) reports no rank or test data — both are too small, with too much suppressed data, to compare directly with the comprehensive schools.