Summary:
The Pine River-Backus School District in Minnesota is home to two high schools: Pine River-Backus High School, a comprehensive school serving grades 7–12 with 371 students, and Pine River-Backus ALP, a much smaller alternative learning program serving grades 9–12 with 57 students. Both serve economically similar populations, with free/reduced lunch at 56.06% and 57.89% respectively. The district is ranked 307 of 458 statewide, at the 33rd percentile, with 2 stars.
The two schools differ sharply in completion outcomes. Pine River-Backus High School graduates 96.4% of students, well above the district's 85.5% and the state's 84.9%. Pine River-Backus ALP graduates 52.6%, roughly 33 points below both. Notably, both report a 0.0% dropout rate, as does the district, compared with 4.2% statewide — an unusual combination for the alternative program, which could suggest transfers or other counting differences. On rankings, both schools hold 1 star, while the district holds 2 stars.
Proficiency tells a different story. At Pine River-Backus High School, all-grades Math is 23%, Reading 33.9%, and Science 11.6%, all below district and state figures, with 8th grade Science especially low at 9.1%. Bright spots include 7th grade Reading at 44% (slightly above the state) and 11th grade Math at 27.3% (above the district). Science also fell from 18.52% to 11.6% year over year. At Pine River-Backus ALP, all 2025–2026 test values are suppressed by the state for privacy; the 2024–2025 Math figure is reported as 0%, and Reading is not listed. Suppressed values are unknown, not zero. ALP also has a higher student-teacher ratio of 23.8 versus 14.2 at the comprehensive high school.
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