Rush City Public School District

Rush City Public School District in Minnesota serves roughly 805 students across just two schools — C.E. Jacobson Elementary (PK–6, 414 students) and Rush City Secondary (7–12, 391 students). There is no standalone middle or alternative school, so students move straight from elementary into a combined middle/high setting. The district as a whole ranks 181 of 458 in the state, at the 60th percentile with 3 stars.

That district-wide ranking hides a real split between the two schools. Rush City Secondary has held a 4-star rating for three straight years, landing between the 78th and 82nd percentile of Minnesota schools. Its completion numbers are a major strength: a 91.9% graduation rate (7.0 points above the state's 84.9%) and a 3.2% dropout rate (1.0 point below the state's 4.2%). C.E. Jacobson Elementary, by contrast, has been a 2-star school for three years, sitting around the 41st–46th percentile. The elementary also has a lower student/teacher ratio (8.9 vs. 12.5) but a higher free/reduced lunch rate (38.16% vs. 30.69%).

Test scores tell a more complicated story than the star ratings alone. In 2025–26 all-grade proficiency, the elementary actually outscored the secondary in math (42.2 vs. 39.0) and reading (46.8 vs. 43.0), while the secondary was far ahead in science (30.8 vs. 14.5). Science is the sharpest divide: secondary End of Course science hit 52.8% against a state mark of 35%, yet elementary science was 11.0 points below state. The elementary's 3rd grade results are a clear bright spot (70.6% in math vs. 57.9% state), but grades 4–6 fall below state, with 5th grade math at 28.2% vs. 41.9%. Year over year, elementary math dropped 8.4 points and science 9.69 points, while elementary reading gained 2.62 points and secondary science climbed 8.5 points even as secondary reading slipped 3.97 points.