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Great Expectations

Public, Charter Grades K-8
274th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 872 Minnesota Elementary Schools
Better than 69% of Minnesota elementary schools
Summary

Great Expectations is a public charter elementary school located in Grand Marais, Minnesota, serving grades K-8 with a total enrollment of 120 students. The school is part of the Great Expectations District, which is ranked 81 out of 446 districts in Minnesota and has a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Great Expectations has shown mixed academic performance over the years, with its statewide ranking fluctuating between 274 and 632 out of Minnesota's elementary schools. In the 2024-2025 school year, the school performed better than the state average in reading, with 65.43% of students proficient or better, compared to the state average of 49.59%. However, in math, the school's performance was slightly below the state average (41.98% vs. 45.21%). Comparing to the nearby Sawtooth Mountain Elementary, Great Expectations outperformed in both math (41.98% vs. 23.53%) and reading (65.43% vs. 38.37%) for the 2024-2025 school year.

The school has seen a decreasing student-teacher ratio, from 13.2 in 2021-2022 to 9.8 in 2023-2024, which is lower than the nearby Sawtooth Mountain Elementary (11.7 in 2023-2024). The school's free and reduced lunch rate has fluctuated, ranging from 24.41% in 2021-2022 to 38.97% in 2022-2023, which is lower than Sawtooth Mountain Elementary's 48.44% in 2023-2024. These factors suggest the school's commitment to providing more personalized attention and support for its students, which could be a contributing factor to its stronger academic performance compared to the nearby school.

113
Students ?
9.3
Student/teacher ratio ?
$16,258
Per pupil spending ?
26.5%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 550 E 5th St
       Grand Marais, MN  55604-0310

(218) 387-9322

District: Great Expectations

Racial breakdown:

White:
84.1%
American Indian:
5.3%
Two or more races:
4.4%
more
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At a glance
▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 32nd percentile in 2014 → 69th in 2025
Strengths
✓Test scores above the Minnesota average (54% vs 47% meeting standards)
✓Ranking is trending up — up 37 percentile points since 2014
✓Above the Minnesota median (69th percentile)
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school54%
District avg54%
Minnesota avg47%
Elementary school
274th of 872
Minnesota public elementary schools ?
Top 31%▲ up 38 pts since 2016
From bottom 30% (2016) to top 31% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of Minnesota Elementary Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
Middle school
111th of 519
Minnesota public middle schools ?
Top 21%▲ up 14 pts since 2018
From top 35% (2018) to top 21% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of Minnesota Middle Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
81st of 446Great Expectations 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)
Elementary school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMinnesota percentileRating
202569.7274 of 87268.6%★★★☆☆
202454.4438 of 88150.3%★★★☆☆
202336.7593 of 84529.8%★★☆☆☆
202233.0632 of 85826.3%★☆☆☆☆
202136.9619 of 86928.8%★☆☆☆☆
201952.3493 of 87043.3%★★☆☆☆
201847.1529 of 84737.5%★★☆☆☆
201751.8493 of 85342.2%★★☆☆☆
201641.6592 of 84830.2%★★☆☆☆
201443.5563 of 82631.8%★★☆☆☆
201375.4169 of 82479.5%★★★★☆
201276.1136 of 82083.4%★★★★☆
201162.8348 of 81457.2%★★★☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMinnesota percentileRating
201953.0457 of 78741.9%★★☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMinnesota percentileRating
202249.5465 of 80842.5%★★☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMinnesota percentileRating
202565.6217 of 71469.6%★★★☆☆
202441.9456 of 73037.5%★★☆☆☆
202321.5632 of 71211.2%★☆☆☆☆
202211.9695 of 7254.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202120.0647 of 7108.9%☆☆☆☆☆
201941.8480 of 72233.5%★★☆☆☆
201840.9474 of 71233.4%★★☆☆☆
Middle school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMinnesota percentileRating
202574.4111 of 51978.6%★★★★☆
202468.3150 of 54572.5%★★★★☆
202367.1152 of 52971.3%★★★★☆
201864.4182 of 51864.9%★★★☆☆
201468.1141 of 49071.2%★★★★☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMinnesota percentileRating
202564.0129 of 41568.9%★★★☆☆
202452.0191 of 44056.6%★★★☆☆
202356.9173 of 43660.3%★★★☆☆
201856.2183 of 42857.2%★★★☆☆
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)
Elementary school
White (2025)70th percentile~ school
Male (2022)42nd percentile+16 vs school
Female (2019)42nd percentile~ school
Middle school
White (2025)69th percentile-10 vs school
By subject vs Minnesota (2024-2025) ?
Reading65%+16 vs state
Math42%-3 vs state

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Frequently Asked Questions about Great Expectations

Great Expectations ranks 274th of 872 Minnesota elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Students at Great Expectations are 84% White, 5% American Indian, 4% Two or more races, 4% Hispanic, 2% Asian.

In the 2024-25 school year, 113 students attended Great Expectations.


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MNMinnesota Elementary School Rankings

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Schools in Grand Marais, MN

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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.




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