High Schools in Moorhead Area Public Schools

The Moorhead Area Public Schools district in Minnesota operates two high schools: Moorhead High School and Moorhead Alternative Learning Center. While both schools serve high school students, they exhibit notable differences in their performance and student populations.

Moorhead High School is the larger and higher-performing of the two, with an enrollment of 2,017 students and consistently ranking in the top half of Minnesota high schools. In contrast, Moorhead Alternative Learning Center serves a smaller student population of 141 and has struggled, ranking in the bottom quartile of Minnesota high schools. The alternative school's test scores, particularly in math and reading proficiency, are significantly lower than the district and state averages.

Both schools have similar four-year graduation rates, around 84%, which is on par with the state average. However, the dropout rate for both schools, at 4.4%, is slightly higher than the state average. Additionally, Moorhead Alternative Learning Center has a much higher rate of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, at 73.76%, compared to 40.21% at Moorhead High School. This suggests that socioeconomic factors may play a role in the performance gap between the two schools.