Menahga Public School District

Menahga Public School District is a small Minnesota district serving 987 students across two schools: Menahga Elementary (grades PK–6, 537 students) and Menahga High School (grades 7–12, 450 students). The district ranks 293rd of 458 in Minnesota — about the 36th percentile, with a 2-star rating — and both schools currently hold 2 stars as well.

The two schools tell quite different stories. Menahga High School stands out for completion: a 92.3% graduation rate compared with the state's 84.9%, and a 1.5% dropout rate compared with 4.2%. But its test scores lag well behind. High school math proficiency is 26.3% versus the state's 44.9%, reading 39.2% versus 48.6%, and science 14.9% versus 25.5%. At Menahga Elementary, math is the bright spot at 46.1%, slightly above the state's 44.9%, with 4th- and 6th-grade math also above state. Yet elementary reading (42.5% vs. 48.6%) and science (14.6% vs. 25.5%) fall short. The internal math gap between the two schools is nearly 20 points, the district's largest academic disparity.

Science is the broadest weakness — both schools sit near 14.6–14.9% while the state is 25.5%. Reading also declined year over year at both schools, most sharply at the high school, where it fell from 46.67% to 39.2%. Two transition grades deserve the closest attention: elementary 5th grade (reading 35% vs. state 54.5%, math 29.3% vs. 41.9%) and high school 8th grade (math 20.3% vs. 42.3%, science 5.3% vs. 16.7%). On a positive note, the high school's rank improved to the 46th percentile this year from the 39th the year before.