Tri-County School District

Tri-County School District is a small two-school district in Karlstad, Minnesota, serving about 179 students across grades PK–12. Karlstad Elementary covers grades PK–6 with 96 students, while Tri-County Secondary serves grades 7–12 with 83 students. The district as a whole ranks 200 of 458, placing it in the 56th percentile with 3 stars — but that average hides a sharp split between its two schools.

Tri-County Secondary is the clear standout. It ranks 70 of 473 (85th percentile, 4 stars) in 2025–26, following 81st percentile (4 stars) in 2024–25 and 90th percentile (5 stars) in 2023–24. Its graduation rate is 100.0% and dropout rate 0.0%, compared with state figures of 84.9% and 4.2%. All-grade proficiency tops the state in math (50 vs 44.9) and reading (53.3 vs 48.6), and edges ahead in science (26.3 vs 25.5). Grade-level results are especially strong in 7th-grade reading (63.6 vs state 43.5) and 11th-grade math (54.5 vs state 35.3). It also has the more favorable student-teacher ratio at 10.6, compared with 14.2 at the elementary school.

Karlstad Elementary is the district's main area of concern, with a three-year decline from the 52nd to the 36th to the 21st percentile and from 3 stars to 2 stars to 1 star. All-grade reading is 34.7, below the district's 41.8 and the state's 48.6, and math is 40, below the district's 43.8 and the state's 44.9. Early reading is the weakest area: 3rd-grade reading is 21.4 against a state rate of 46.8, while 4th-grade reading and 4th-grade math are both 23.1. Elementary science is suppressed by the state for 2025–26, so it cannot be evaluated that year. Because the student cohorts are so small, several results are withheld and year-to-year changes should be read with caution.