High Schools in Northland Community Schools

High Schools located in Northland Community Schools consist of two schools serving students in the Remer, Minnesota area: Northland Secondary, which serves grades 6–12 with 149 students, and Little Sand, which serves grades 7–12 with just 10 students. Both share the same address, the same district, and the same high-poverty student population — about 72% and 70% free/reduced lunch, respectively.

Academically, only Northland Secondary has usable performance data, and it trails the state in every core subject. All-grades math is 19.5% proficient versus 44.9% statewide, reading is 31% versus 48.6%, and science is 18.4% versus 25.5%. Science is its relative strength: End-of-Course Science is 30.8% versus 35% statewide. There is some good news — math rose from 13.33% to 19.5% and science from 10.34% to 18.4% year over year, while reading stayed flat at about 31%. The bigger warning signs are graduation and dropout: the graduation rate is 68.4% against 84.9% statewide, and the dropout rate is 21.0% versus 4.2% statewide, more than five times the state figure. Little Sand has all test scores suppressed by the state because of its very small size, so its academic performance is unknown rather than poor; it does report an 11.7 student-teacher ratio, lower than Northland Secondary's 13.4.

The district as a whole is ranked 380 of 458 Minnesota districts, in the 17th percentile with 1 star. Northland Secondary has moved between 19th, 43rd, and 27th percentile over three years, so its standing is volatile. Families should weigh the improving math and science scores against the large math and reading gaps and the very high dropout rate.