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HGA Secondary

Q: Is HGA Secondary a good school?

HGA Secondary ranks 301 st of 473 Minnesota high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public, Charter Grades 8-12

301^st

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 473 Minnesota High Schools

Better than 36% of Minnesota high schools

Summary

HGA Secondary is a public charter high school in Saint Paul, Minnesota, serving 442 students in grades 8 through 12 as part of the Higher Ground Academy district, where roughly 91% of students qualified for free or reduced-price lunch in 2024–25 — a far higher-poverty population than nearby Great River School (19.22%) but similar to other local charters.

HGA's clearest strengths are its graduation and dropout results. In 2024–25 it graduated 91.5% of students with a 0.0% dropout rate, both better than the state (84.9% and 4.2%) and comparable to higher-income Great River (92.3%, 0.0%) and Hmong College Prep Academy High School (92.2%, 1.5%). Reading and math are also comparatively strong locally: 2025–26 all-grade proficiency was 40.1% in reading and 25.7% in math, second among these nearby schools only to Great River and ahead of Hmong College Prep, New Century School Secondary, Minnesota Connections Academy 7-12, NCS Online Program and Career Pathways. The student–teacher ratio improved to 13.2, better than most nearby charters except Great River and Career Pathways, and the school's effectiveness ratings for several student groups rank well above its overall school rank.

Academically, the school's overall standing is mid-to-lower: 36th percentile (2 stars) among Minnesota high schools in 2025–26, with results below state averages in math (25.7% vs. 44.9%), reading (40.1% vs. 48.6%) and science (11.7% vs. 25.5%). Science is the weakest area and has declined in recent years. Results have also swung noticeably from year to year — from 60th percentile in 2024–25 down to 36th in 2025–26 — so single-year changes should be read with caution.

442

Students ?

13.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$11,935

Per pupil spending ?

90.7%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1471 Brewster Street
Saint Paul, MN 55108-8888

(651) 369-7555

District: Higher Ground Academy

Racial breakdown:

African American:

95.0%

White:

3.6%

Asian:

1.1%

See top rated Minnesota high schools

Compare HGA Secondary to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 45th percentile in 2016 → 36th in 2026

Strengths

✓92% graduate in 4 years — above the Minnesota average (85%)

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Minnesota average (26% vs 43% meeting standards)

!Ranking has slipped — down 9 percentile points since 2016

!Math scores 19 pts below the Minnesota average

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school26%

District avg33%

Minnesota avg43%

Middle school

362^nd of 546

Minnesota public middle schools ?

Bottom 34%▼ down 22 pts since 2021

From top 45% (2021) to bottom 34% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Minnesota Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

High school

301^st of 473

Minnesota public high schools ?

Bottom 36%▼ down 9 pts since 2016

From bottom 45% (2016) to bottom 36% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Minnesota High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

314^th of 458Higher Ground Academy among Minnesota districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Middle school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2026	35.8	362 of 546	33.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	48.6	277 of 545	49.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	40.3	323 of 529	38.9%	★★☆☆☆
2022	52.2	244 of 520	53.1%	★★★☆☆
2021	52.9	233 of 521	55.3%	★★★☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2026	75.9	27 of 185	85.4%	★★★★☆
2024	81.0	24 of 179	86.6%	★★★★☆
2023	74.0	29 of 164	82.3%	★★★★☆
2022	80.8	18 of 162	88.9%	★★★★☆
2021	87.4	8 of 141	94.3%	★★★★★

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2026	57.6	38 of 170	77.6%	★★★★☆
2024	68.6	23 of 158	85.4%	★★★★☆
2023	78.1	6 of 133	95.5%	★★★★★
2022	69.6	14 of 130	89.2%	★★★★☆
2021	87.0	5 of 102	95.1%	★★★★★

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2026	41.8	277 of 467	40.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	41.0	295 of 474	37.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	37.5	306 of 455	32.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	47.9	243 of 467	48.0%	★★☆☆☆
2021	48.1	220 of 443	50.3%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2026	57.2	166 of 458	63.8%	★★★☆☆
2024	71.2	97 of 473	79.5%	★★★★☆
2023	60.9	136 of 459	70.4%	★★★★☆
2022	74.9	50 of 404	87.6%	★★★★☆
2021	81.4	26 of 399	93.5%	★★★★★

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2026	26.8	372 of 483	23.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	52.4	216 of 479	54.9%	★★★☆☆
2023	38.9	294 of 464	36.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	50.8	229 of 476	51.9%	★★★☆☆
2021	51.3	213 of 437	51.3%	★★★☆☆

High school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2026	37.8	301 of 473	36.4%	★★☆☆☆
2025	62.7	181 of 450	59.8%	★★★☆☆
2024	44.1	292 of 480	39.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	50.9	247 of 476	48.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	44.2	293 of 472	37.9%	★★☆☆☆
2021	23.5	355 of 428	17.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	71.0	145 of 492	70.5%	★★★★☆
2018	62.6	216 of 494	56.3%	★★★☆☆
2017	64.1	197 of 489	59.7%	★★★☆☆
2016	53.4	269 of 489	45.0%	★★☆☆☆
2015	81.9	65 of 504	87.1%	★★★★☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2026	73.9	19 of 114	83.3%	★★★★☆
2025	90.3	7 of 95	92.6%	★★★★★
2024	76.0	17 of 109	84.4%	★★★★☆
2023	82.3	13 of 98	86.7%	★★★★☆
2022	75.0	18 of 102	82.4%	★★★★☆
2021	51.2	31 of 68	54.4%	★★★☆☆
2019	95.0	1 of 103	99.0%	★★★★★
2018	95.6	4 of 106	96.2%	★★★★★

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2026	67.2	19 of 110	82.7%	★★★★☆
2025	96.9	2 of 94	97.9%	★★★★★
2024	76.4	10 of 102	90.2%	★★★★★
2023	73.7	9 of 90	90.0%	★★★★★
2022	84.6	4 of 87	95.4%	★★★★★
2021	49.3	16 of 47	66.0%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2026	36.2	270 of 398	32.2%	★★☆☆☆
2025	53.4	182 of 358	49.2%	★★☆☆☆
2024	38.5	270 of 403	33.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	56.7	175 of 396	55.8%	★★★☆☆
2022	31.3	292 of 388	24.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	5.7	325 of 339	4.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	62.4	153 of 401	61.8%	★★★☆☆
2018	65.2	148 of 395	62.5%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2026	56.2	150 of 377	60.2%	★★★☆☆
2025	82.5	39 of 333	88.3%	★★★★☆
2024	61.3	136 of 389	65.0%	★★★☆☆
2023	71.7	81 of 393	79.4%	★★★★☆
2022	68.8	83 of 312	73.4%	★★★★☆
2021	44.9	155 of 270	42.6%	★★☆☆☆
2019	83.2	34 of 370	90.8%	★★★★★
2018	80.7	50 of 374	86.6%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2026	29.1	303 of 395	23.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	57.6	158 of 377	58.1%	★★★☆☆
2024	39.0	265 of 405	34.6%	★★☆☆☆
2023	36.2	274 of 398	31.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	45.9	238 of 403	40.9%	★★☆☆☆
2021	40.8	225 of 351	35.9%	★★☆☆☆
2019	67.2	134 of 411	67.4%	★★★☆☆
2018	45.8	257 of 398	35.4%	★★☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Middle school

African American (2026)85th percentile+52 vs school

English Language Learner (2026)78th percentile+44 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)64th percentile+30 vs school

Female (2026)41st percentile+7 vs school

Male (2026)23rd percentile-11 vs school

High school

African American (2026)83rd percentile+47 vs school

English Language Learner (2026)83rd percentile+46 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)60th percentile+24 vs school

Female (2026)32nd percentile-4 vs school

Male (2026)23rd percentile-13 vs school

By subject vs Minnesota (2025-2026) ?

Reading40%-8 vs state

Math26%-19 vs state

Science12%-14 vs state

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Schools Near HGA Secondary

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				MCA-IV Reading (2026)					MCA-IV Science (2026)			MCA-III Math (2026)					Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients (2025)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	MCA-IV Reading 6th Grade	MCA-IV Reading 7th Grade	MCA-IV Reading 8th Grade	MCA-IV Reading 10th Grade	MCA-IV Reading All Grades	MCA-IV Science 8th Grade	MCA-IV Science End of Course	MCA-IV Science All Grades	MCA-III Math 6th Grade	MCA-III Math 7th Grade	MCA-III Math 8th Grade	MCA-III Math 11th Grade	MCA-III Math All Grades	Total
HGA Secondary	Public, Charter	8-12	1471 Brewster Street	Saint Paul	55108	Ramsey County	Higher Ground Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(651) 369-7555	442	33	13.2	90.7%	16 (3.6%)	420 (95.0%)	1 (0.2%)	5 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	37.8	301^st of 473 public high schools	36.4%		62.7	181^st of 450 public high schools	59.8%	120			36.7	43.2	40.1	7.8	15.6	11.7			34.2	16.9	25.7	$11,935
Hmong College Prep Academy High School	Public, Charter	9-12	1515 Brewster St	Saint Paul	55108	Ramsey County	Hmong College Prep Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(651) 209-8002	791	47	16.7	79.1%	2 (0.3%)	2 (0.3%)	7 (0.9%)	765 (96.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (1.9%)	33.1	324^th of 473 public high schools	31.5%		35.2	317^th of 450 public high schools	29.6%	7				28.8	28.8		24.4	24.4				20.8	20.8	$14,522
New Century School Secondary	Public, Charter	6-12	1380 Energy Lane	Saint Paul	55108	Ramsey County	New Century School	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(651) 478-4535	284	9	31.5	95.8%	9 (3.2%)	274 (96.5%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	27.2	355^th of 473 public high schools	24.9%					(n/a)	29.6	33.3	28.2	20.5	27.9	10.3	10.4	10.4	9.3	16.7	22.5	41.2	20.6
NCS Online Program	Public, Virtual, Charter	6-12	1380 Energy Lane	Saint Paul	55108	Ramsey County	New Century School	Yes	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(651) 478-4535	23	0		87.0%	0 (0.0%)	23 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)					18.2								9.1
Minnesota Connections Academy 7-12	Public, Virtual, Charter	7-12	1350 Energy Lane Suite 230	Saint Paul	55108	Ramsey County	Minnesota Transitions Charter School	Yes	No	Yes	No	(800) 382-6010	3,536	86	41.1	63.3%	2,425 (68.6%)	347 (9.8%)	318 (9.0%)	66 (1.9%)	89 (2.5%)	8 (0.2%)	283 (8.0%)	19	397^th of 473 public high schools	16.1%		26.5	353^rd of 450 public high schools	21.6%	44		24.8	38.4	27.8	30.4	8.2	15.9	13.0		6.7	10.4	7.0	8.0	$9,782
Great River School	Public, Charter	7-12	1326 Energy Park Dr	Saint Paul	55108	Ramsey County	Great River School	Yes	No	No	No	(651) 305-2780	411	35	11.7	19.2%	313 (76.2%)	25 (6.1%)	32 (7.8%)	13 (3.2%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	26 (6.3%)	80.2	75^th of 473 public high schools	84.1%		84.2	61^st of 450 public high schools	86.4%	14		60.6	62.9	63.6	62.2	22.1	26.1	23.1		35.2	38.6	44.8	39.2	$19,563
Career Pathways	Public, Charter	6-12	1355 Pierce Butler Rt	Saint Paul	55104	Ramsey County	Career Pathways	Yes	No	No	Yes	(651) 400-1781	121	11	11.2	87.6%	7 (5.8%)	79 (65.3%)	15 (12.4%)	6 (5.0%)	1 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (10.7%)	7.7	441^st of 473 public high schools	6.8%					(n/a)				16.7	14.3		7.1	4.8				0.0	3.7	$15,364
Alternative Learning Center Extended Day 9-12	Public	5-12	1930 Como Ave	Saint Paul	55108	Ramsey County	Saint Paul Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(651) 744-1330	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)														$10,399
Alternative Learning Center Summer Learning Programs 9-12	Public	9-12	1930 Como Ave	Saint Paul	55108	Ramsey County	Saint Paul Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(651) 744-1330	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)														$5,237
Alternative Learning Center Credit Recovery	Public	9-12	1930 Como Ave	Saint Paul	55108	Ramsey County	Saint Paul Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(651) 744-1330	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)

Frequently Asked Questions about HGA Secondary

How many students attend HGA Secondary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 442 students attended HGA Secondary.

What is the racial makeup of HGA Secondary?

Students at HGA Secondary are 95% African American, 4% White, 1% Asian.

What district is HGA Secondary in?

Higher Ground Academy

Is HGA Secondary a good school?

HGA Secondary ranks 301^st of 473 Minnesota high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Rate HGA Secondary!

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Latest Minnesota data All new data »

2024–25 through 2025–26 MCA-III & MCA-IV test scoresNewSep 30, 2026

2024–25 dropout rates & graduation ratesJun 13, 2026

2024–25 MCA-III test scoresAug 29, 2025

2023–24 dropout rates & graduation ratesMay 8, 2025

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Minnesota Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.