La Crescent Sec Montessori/STEM

La Crescent Sec Montessori/STEM is a small public school in La Crescent, Minnesota — a Mississippi River town in the state's southeast corner — serving grades 7–12 with 46 students and a student-teacher ratio of 9.7.

Academically, reading is this school's standout strength. All-grade reading proficiency is 72.7%, well above the state's 48.6% and above its La Crescent Montessori & STEM School district's 67.9%, and the 10th-grade reading result of 70.0% is far above the state's 42.5%. Math is the clearest relative weakness at 38.9%, below both the state (44.9%) and the district (42.0%) — though that figure jumped sharply from 5–11% in the three prior years, and the school's small size makes such swings hard to interpret. Science sits at 35.1%, above the state's 25.5% but behind the district's top performers. Overall, the school ranks 152nd of 473 Minnesota schools, in the 68th percentile with 3 stars.

Comparisons with nearby schools are striking. La Crescent Senior High, just 0.36 miles away with 328 students, ranks higher overall (85th percentile) and scores higher in math (41.8%) and science (45.9%), but its reading proficiency is 52.3% — roughly 20 points lower, despite a lower free/reduced lunch rate (22.26% versus 34.78%). Caledonia Senior High ranks in the 95th percentile with higher scores across all three subjects, while Minnesota Virtual Academy High (58th percentile) and Houston Secondary (37th percentile) both trail it. Keep in mind that with only 46 students, many grade-level and subgroup scores are suppressed by the state, percentages can swing widely year to year, and graduation and dropout data are not available here. The bottom line: a small, low-ratio school with an unusually strong reading profile, math as its main gap, and science above the state average but behind the top local high schools.