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Northside Elementary

Q: Is Northside Elementary a good school?

Northside Elementary ranks 547 th of 872 Minnesota elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades PK, KG-5

547^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 872 Minnesota Elementary Schools

Better than 37% of Minnesota elementary schools

Summary

Northside Elementary is a public elementary school located in Benson, Minnesota, serving grades PK-5 with a total enrollment of 383 students. The school is part of the Benson Public School District, which is ranked 285 out of 446 districts in the state.

Northside Elementary has consistently ranked in the bottom half of Minnesota elementary schools, with a 2-star rating out of 5. In comparison, the nearby Hancock Elementary school has consistently ranked in the top 5% of Minnesota elementary schools, with a 5-star rating. Northside Elementary's proficiency rates in Math and Reading on the MCA-III assessments are generally lower than the state averages and Hancock Elementary's rates. The school's performance for specific student subgroups, such as Hispanic students, White students, and Special Education students, is particularly concerning, with these groups ranking significantly lower than their peers at other schools.

Northside Elementary has a relatively high percentage of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, with 50.39% of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch in 2023-2024, compared to 29.96% at the nearby Hancock Elementary school. Additionally, Northside Elementary has a relatively high student-teacher ratio, ranging from 15.8 to 19.1 students per teacher over the past three years, while Hancock Elementary has a lower ratio of 12.6 students per teacher.

391

Students ?

16.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$12,180

Per pupil spending ?

38.4%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1800 Nevada Ave
Benson, MN 56215-8888

(320) 843-2710

District: Benson Public School District

Students who attend Northside Elementary usually attend:

High:

Benson Secondary

Racial breakdown:

White:

80.6%

Hispanic:

11.3%

Two or more races:

3.8%

See top rated Minnesota elementary schools

Compare Northside Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 52nd percentile in 2015 → 37th in 2025

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped — down 15 percentile points since 2015

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school43%

District avg39%

Minnesota avg47%

547^th of 872

Minnesota public elementary schools ?

Bottom 37%▼ down 14 pts since 2015

From top 48% (2015) to bottom 37% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Minnesota Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

285^th of 446Benson Public School District 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)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	42.3	547 of 872	37.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	44.9	545 of 881	38.1%	★★☆☆☆
2023	48.2	505 of 845	40.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	51.5	484 of 858	43.6%	★★☆☆☆
2021	54.6	446 of 869	48.7%	★★☆☆☆
2019	55.7	465 of 870	46.6%	★★☆☆☆
2018	49.3	504 of 847	40.5%	★★☆☆☆
2017	40.6	595 of 853	30.2%	★★☆☆☆
2016	51.8	494 of 848	41.7%	★★☆☆☆
2015	58.9	406 of 840	51.7%	★★★☆☆
2014	53.9	448 of 826	45.8%	★★☆☆☆
2013	58.8	389 of 824	52.8%	★★★☆☆
2012	63.7	343 of 820	58.2%	★★★☆☆
2011	58.5	405 of 814	50.2%	★★★☆☆
2010	65.5	311 of 803	61.3%	★★★☆☆
2008	68.0	235 of 781	69.9%	★★★★☆
2007	63.0	293 of 777	62.3%	★★★☆☆
2006	53.7	421 of 756	44.3%	★★☆☆☆
2005	48.4	441 of 685	35.6%	★★☆☆☆
2004	51.2	395 of 676	41.6%	★★☆☆☆
2003	62.0	276 of 674	59.1%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	42.5	506 of 799	36.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	42.8	514 of 809	36.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	44.0	498 of 787	36.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	45.0	492 of 799	38.4%	★★☆☆☆
2021	53.7	419 of 783	46.5%	★★☆☆☆
2019	61.1	349 of 787	55.7%	★★★☆☆
2018	52.1	440 of 774	43.2%	★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2023	28.7	159 of 214	25.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	44.6	445 of 764	41.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	52.4	385 of 793	51.5%	★★★☆☆
2023	46.7	432 of 774	44.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	54.9	300 of 663	54.8%	★★★☆☆
2021	63.1	226 of 683	66.9%	★★★☆☆
2019	62.6	267 of 740	63.9%	★★★☆☆
2018	52.7	373 of 728	48.8%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	39.9	546 of 812	32.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	45.1	503 of 826	39.1%	★★☆☆☆
2023	48.6	454 of 799	43.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	55.3	395 of 808	51.1%	★★★☆☆
2021	51.7	437 of 784	44.3%	★★☆☆☆
2019	48.2	479 of 798	40.0%	★★☆☆☆
2018	44.3	514 of 779	34.0%	★★☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	15.6	521 of 562	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	30.2	420 of 572	26.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	23.4	441 of 524	15.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	43.4	252 of 417	39.6%	★★☆☆☆
2019	41.5	336 of 515	34.8%	★★☆☆☆
2018	30.6	331 of 463	28.5%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	24.9	604 of 714	15.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	29.6	569 of 730	22.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	36.5	491 of 712	31.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	36.3	517 of 725	28.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	37.2	504 of 710	29.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	35.4	548 of 722	24.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	31.7	558 of 712	21.6%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)42nd percentile+4 vs school

Female (2025)37th percentile~ school

Male (2025)33rd percentile-5 vs school

Hispanic (2023)26th percentile-15 vs school

White (2025)15th percentile-22 vs school

Special Education (2025)7th percentile-30 vs school

By subject vs Minnesota (2024-2025) ?

Math45%~ state avg

Reading41%-8 vs state

★

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Schools Near Northside Elementary

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				MCA-III Math (2025)					MCA-III Reading (2025)					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	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	MCA-III Math 3rd Grade	MCA-III Math 4th Grade	MCA-III Math 5th Grade	MCA-III Math 6th Grade	MCA-III Math All Grades	MCA-III Reading 3rd Grade	MCA-III Reading 4th Grade	MCA-III Reading 5th Grade	MCA-III Reading 6th Grade	MCA-III Reading All Grades	Total
Northside Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1800 Nevada Ave	Benson	56215	Swift County	Benson Public School District	No	No	No	Yes	(320) 843-2710	391	23	16.7	38.4%	315 (80.6%)	6 (1.5%)	44 (11.3%)	11 (2.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (3.8%)	42.3	547^th of 872 public elementary schools	37.3%		44.9	545^th of 881 public elementary schools	38.1%	2	68.3	33.3	29.3		44.8	50.8	21.4	45.6		41.3	$12,180
Murdock Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	408 Hollis St N	Murdock	56271	Swift County	Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg	No	No	No	Yes	(320) 875-2441	395	35	11.4	40.5%	297 (75.2%)	2 (0.5%)	83 (21.0%)	4 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.0%)	5 (1.3%)	61.5	356^th of 872 public elementary schools	59.2%		58.4	397^th of 881 public elementary schools	54.9%	41	75.0	48.8	44.6	53.9	54.2	57.5	38.8	58.9	55.8	51.1	$11,477
Hancock Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	371 Hancock Ave	Hancock	56244	Stevens County	Hancock Public School District	No	No	No	Yes	(320) 392-5622	233	18	12.9	28.3%	196 (84.1%)	1 (0.4%)	27 (11.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (3.9%)	94	23^rd of 872 public elementary schools	97.4%		92.6	21^st of 881 public elementary schools	97.6%	2	96.6	94.6	55.6	72.4	79.4	75.9	75.7	77.8	96.6	80.9	$10,388

Frequently Asked Questions about Northside Elementary

How many students attend Northside Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 391 students attended Northside Elementary.

What district is Northside Elementary in?

Benson Public School District

What is the racial makeup of Northside Elementary?

Students at Northside Elementary are 81% White, 11% Hispanic, 4% Two or more races, 3% Asian, 2% African American.

What schools do graduates of Northside Elementary attend?

Students who attend Northside Elementary usually go on to attend:

High : Benson Secondary

Is Northside Elementary a good school?

Northside Elementary ranks 547^th of 872 Minnesota elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Rate Northside Elementary!

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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.