Summary:
Inver Grove Heights Schools is a Minnesota district serving roughly 3,359 students across seven schools: four elementary schools (Hilltop Elementary, Pine Bend Elementary, Salem Hills Elementary, and Atheneum Elementary), one middle school (Inver Grove Heights Middle), and two high schools (Simley Senior High and Simley Alternative Program). The district ranks 260th of 458 in Minnesota, at the 43rd percentile with a 2-star rating, but that single number hides enormous differences between schools, which range from the 16th to the 100th percentile.
Atheneum Elementary is the clear standout: 2nd of 869 elementary schools, 100th percentile, 5 stars, with 93.8% math, 100% reading, and 77.8% science proficiency, far above district and state averages. It is very small, though, at 69 students, and some of its grade-level scores are suppressed by the state. Salem Hills Elementary is the strongest of the larger PK–5 schools, with 54.5% math (above the state's 44.9%) and the lowest student-teacher ratio at 10.3, and it has climbed from the 33rd to the 46th percentile. Simley Senior High, the largest school at 1,030 students, posts a strong 89.6% graduation rate but weaker test scores (13.7% math, 32.4% reading), while its 25.6% science is near the state average.
Science is a district-wide weak spot: the district's 17.2% sits well below the state's 25.5%, with Inver Grove Heights Middle at 8.9% and Pine Bend Elementary at 9.5%. Reading is uneven, from 100% at Atheneum Elementary to 25.5% at Hilltop Elementary, the lowest-ranked current school at 726th of 869. Several schools are improving: Inver Grove Heights Middle moved from the 35th to the 40th percentile and Simley Senior High from the 23rd to the 31st. Very small schools like Atheneum Elementary and Simley Alternative Program (25 students) can swing widely year to year.
Thank you for your feedback!