Summary
Bemidji Senior High is a grades 9–12 public high school in Bemidji, in north-central Minnesota, serving 1,537 students as the flagship campus of the Bemidji Public School District. It is far larger than every nearby high school—nearly six times the next-largest—and it clearly outperforms its own district: for 2025–26 it ranks 157th of 473 high schools statewide (67th percentile, 3 stars), while the district sits at the 37th percentile, largely because of its alternative programs. About 33.4% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch, the lowest rate in the local comparison group, and the student–teacher ratio is 19.8:1.
Academically, science is the standout: 36.7% of students scored proficient, above the state’s 25.5% and the district’s 27.6%. Reading is at state parity (47.4% vs. 48.6%), and the tested 10th-grade cohort is about 5 points above the state 10th-grade average. Math is the persistent weakness: 32.1% proficient, roughly 13 points below the state (44.9%) and district (44.0%), and it did not improve during the school’s broad 2025–26 turnaround in reading, science, and dropout reduction. Graduation is 82.3% and dropout is 7.9%—better than the district but behind the state; dropout also recovered sharply from a 13.1% spike. Measured student groups perform unusually evenly, all landing in the 56th–65th percentile range.
Nearby comparisons are striking. The Bemidji Senior Lumberjack Alternative Learning Center shares the same campus but serves 85 students, ranks in the 7th percentile, and reports 0% math proficiency and 18.2% reading. Laporte Secondary has the group’s highest graduation rate (95.4%) and a 0% dropout rate, yet lower math and reading proficiency than Bemidji Senior High. Treknorth High School graduates 87.8% but has only 6.7% math proficiency. High-poverty nearby schools such as Cass Lake-Bena Secondary post single-digit proficiency despite much smaller classes, showing class size alone does not explain results. For parents, the takeaway is a very large comprehensive high school that has just posted its best year in nearly a decade, serves student groups fairly evenly, compares well with local alternatives, and still has one clear priority: math.
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