Thief River Falls School District

Thief River Falls School District serves about 1,725 students across four listed schools — one elementary, one middle, and two high schools — and is ranked 241 of 458 districts in Minnesota, placing it at the 47th percentile with 2 stars. District-wide proficiency in 2025-2026 trails the state in all three subjects: math 37.0% vs. 44.9%, reading 43.8% vs. 48.6%, and science 21.3% vs. 25.5%.

Challenger Elementary is the district's largest school (727 students, PK–5) and its academic anchor, with the only all-grade math score above the state (48.2%) and the highest grade-level figure in the data (4th grade math, 59.2%). It is not uniformly strong, though: 3rd grade reading (36.5%) and 5th grade math (32.8%) fall well below state levels, and its rank slipped from the 54th percentile with 3 stars to the 48th percentile with 2 stars. Lincoln Senior High has the most positive trajectory, rising from the 34th to the 49th percentile, and stands out for a 95.3% graduation rate and 32.8% science proficiency — both above state — even as its math (28.8%) and reading (37.4%) trail. Franklin Middle is the clearest concern: science proficiency of 10.8% is far below the district and state, math is 30.5%, its rank fell from the 54th to the 44th percentile, and it has the district's highest student-teacher ratio at 17.4.

Northwest Area Learning Center is a very small learning center with 23 students and an 86.96% free/reduced lunch rate, so its percentages — including an exact 0% in math and a science score suppressed by the state (unknown, not zero) — are volatile and shouldn't be compared directly with the comprehensive schools; its 88.8% graduation rate is above the state. Notably, free/reduced lunch does not track simply with achievement here, and year-over-year trends are mixed across all four schools.