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Deer River Secondary

Q: Is Deer River Secondary a good school?

Deer River Secondary ranks 292 nd of 450 Minnesota high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Q: How many students attend Deer River Secondary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 425 students attended Deer River Secondary.

Q: What is the racial makeup of Deer River Secondary?

Students at Deer River Secondary are 51% White, 35% American Indian, 13% Two or more races.

Q: What schools feed into Deer River Secondary?

Deer River Secondary is fed by the following schools: Elementary : King Elementary

Public Grades 6-12

292^nd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 450 Minnesota High Schools

Better than 35% of Minnesota high schools

Summary

Deer River Secondary is a public high school serving grades 6-12 in the Deer River Public School District in Deer River, Minnesota. With 438 students, the school is ranked 292 out of 450 Minnesota high schools and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Deer River Secondary consistently underperforms the state average on MCA-III proficiency tests in both math and reading, with only 10.53% of 11th graders proficient in math compared to the state average of 34.96%. However, the school's performance on science tests is slightly better, with 44% of students proficient in the end-of-course exam, compared to the state average of 43.47%. The school's graduation rates have fluctuated, ranging from 77.9% to 93.1%, with the most recent rate at 84.2% in 2023-2024. Deer River Secondary's dropout rate has also varied, from a low of 3.4% to a high of 10.1%, with the most recent rate at 4.4% in 2023-2024.

Compared to nearby schools, Grand Rapids Senior High outperforms Deer River Secondary on academic measures, while Northland Secondary also performs better. However, Deer River Secondary appears to perform better than the very small rural schools in the Northland Community Schools district, such as Little Sand. The fluctuating performance of Deer River Secondary suggests the school may be facing challenges in maintaining consistent academic progress and improvement.

425

Students ?

10.6

Student/teacher ratio ?

$17,552

Per pupil spending ?

59.1%

Free/discounted lunch ?

101 1st Ave NE
Deer River, MN 56636-0307

(218) 246-8241

District: Deer River Public School District

Feeder schools for Deer River Secondary:

Elementary:

King Elementary

Racial breakdown:

White:

50.6%

American Indian:

34.6%

Two or more races:

12.9%

See top rated Minnesota high schools

Compare Deer River Secondary to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 57th percentile in 2015 → 35th in 2025

Strengths

✓93% graduate in 4 years — above the Minnesota average (84%)

✓Small classes — about 11 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Minnesota average (31% vs 47% meeting standards)

!Ranking has slipped — down 22 percentile points since 2015

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

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school31%

District avg43%

Minnesota avg47%

Middle school

380^th of 519

Minnesota public middle schools ?

Bottom 27%▼ down 14 pts since 2015

From bottom 41% (2015) to bottom 27% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Minnesota Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

High school

292^nd of 450

Minnesota public high schools ?

Bottom 35%▼ down 21 pts since 2015

From top 43% (2015) to bottom 35% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Minnesota High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

253^rd of 446Deer River 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)

Middle school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	32.1	380 of 519	26.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	32.5	387 of 545	29.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	40.6	321 of 529	39.3%	★★☆☆☆
2022	35.6	354 of 520	31.9%	★★☆☆☆
2021	24.4	412 of 521	20.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	40.2	344 of 533	35.5%	★★☆☆☆
2018	33.9	371 of 518	28.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	34.8	365 of 523	30.2%	★★☆☆☆
2016	33.9	371 of 508	27.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	45.2	304 of 516	41.1%	★★☆☆☆
2014	28.3	387 of 490	21.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	40.0	331 of 488	32.2%	★★☆☆☆
2012	32.7	372 of 469	20.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	29.2	388 of 478	18.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	32.1	367 of 454	19.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	60.6	97 of 230	57.8%	★★★☆☆
2008	62.6	159 of 409	61.1%	★★★☆☆
2007	59.7	168 of 403	58.3%	★★★☆☆
2006	74.5	80 of 406	80.3%	★★★★☆
2005	66.2	149 of 396	62.4%	★★★☆☆
2004	49.0	248 of 387	35.9%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	22.3	366 of 450	18.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	27.9	367 of 474	22.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	33.7	330 of 455	27.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	42.8	283 of 467	39.4%	★★☆☆☆
2021	23.5	360 of 443	18.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	40.9	301 of 439	31.4%	★★☆☆☆
2018	22.4	376 of 436	13.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2022	38.6	8 of 15	46.7%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	32.9	307 of 432	28.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	38.9	302 of 473	36.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	46.0	239 of 459	47.9%	★★☆☆☆
2022	29.6	309 of 404	23.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	30.8	300 of 399	24.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	47.1	226 of 415	45.5%	★★☆☆☆
2018	47.0	230 of 401	42.6%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	39.7	283 of 452	37.4%	★★☆☆☆
2024	33.8	329 of 479	31.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	43.1	274 of 464	40.9%	★★☆☆☆
2022	26.8	362 of 476	23.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	23.8	351 of 437	19.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	36.7	309 of 454	31.9%	★★☆☆☆
2018	39.4	306 of 438	30.1%	★★☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2019	50.9	62 of 120	48.3%	★★☆☆☆
2018	38.3	75 of 114	34.2%	★★☆☆☆

Native American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	33.5	37 of 50	26.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	56.6	18 of 55	67.3%	★★★★☆
2023	54.4	20 of 49	59.2%	★★★☆☆
2022	48.3	10 of 22	54.5%	★★★☆☆
2021	25.9	17 of 18	5.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	46.0	12 of 23	47.8%	★★★☆☆
2018	41.3	14 of 23	39.1%	★★☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	33.1	189 of 265	28.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	26.6	245 of 307	20.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	36.3	194 of 298	34.9%	★★☆☆☆
2022	20.0	251 of 288	12.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	9.1	253 of 260	2.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	12.4	270 of 282	4.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	20.1	223 of 253	11.9%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	35.5	281 of 415	32.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	20.0	385 of 440	12.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	43.1	252 of 436	42.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	42.1	253 of 438	42.2%	★★☆☆☆
2021	28.7	319 of 422	24.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	42.4	265 of 428	38.1%	★★☆☆☆
2018	37.0	307 of 428	28.3%	★☆☆☆☆

High school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	41.0	292 of 450	35.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	40.8	308 of 480	35.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	41.2	306 of 476	35.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	38.8	321 of 472	32.0%	★★☆☆☆
2021	49.1	239 of 428	44.2%	★★☆☆☆
2019	35.2	353 of 492	28.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	72.2	139 of 494	71.9%	★★★★☆
2017	78.5	85 of 489	82.6%	★★★★☆
2016	46.9	309 of 489	36.8%	★★☆☆☆
2015	61.8	219 of 504	56.5%	★★★☆☆
2014	44.5	316 of 483	34.6%	★★☆☆☆
2013	49.7	326 of 534	39.0%	★★☆☆☆
2012	53.8	318 of 539	41.0%	★★☆☆☆
2011	59.0	278 of 545	49.0%	★★☆☆☆
2010	53.8	307 of 540	43.1%	★★☆☆☆
2009	77.3	52 of 234	77.8%	★★★★☆
2008	57.8	253 of 460	45.0%	★★☆☆☆
2007	53.7	266 of 463	42.5%	★★☆☆☆
2006	54.6	267 of 450	40.7%	★★☆☆☆
2005	65.8	228 of 452	49.6%	★★☆☆☆
2004	71.0	158 of 433	63.5%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	24.2	288 of 358	19.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	58.3	179 of 403	55.6%	★★★☆☆
2023	48.9	219 of 396	44.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	11.3	358 of 388	7.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	42.6	265 of 401	33.9%	★★☆☆☆
2018	57.6	195 of 395	50.6%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	48.7	174 of 333	47.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	41.6	240 of 389	38.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	48.1	203 of 393	48.3%	★★☆☆☆
2022	35.4	206 of 312	34.0%	★★☆☆☆
2019	43.4	224 of 370	39.5%	★★☆☆☆
2018	70.4	88 of 374	76.5%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	45.2	223 of 377	40.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	20.9	344 of 405	15.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	32.6	294 of 398	26.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	55.9	178 of 403	55.8%	★★★☆☆
2021	65.5	116 of 351	67.0%	★★★☆☆
2019	15.8	360 of 411	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	75.1	84 of 398	78.9%	★★★★☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2019	1.8	66 of 66	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Native American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	48.8	14 of 28	50.0%	★★★☆☆
2024	24.8	31 of 42	26.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	25.0	30 of 36	16.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	24.9	14 of 16	12.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	66.3	5 of 15	66.7%	★★★★☆
2018	79.0	2 of 14	85.7%	★★★★★

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2019	12.7	208 of 220	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	29.6	299 of 376	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	41.1	259 of 402	35.6%	★★☆☆☆
2023	39.0	269 of 398	32.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	56.7	184 of 401	54.1%	★★★☆☆
2021	62.5	136 of 364	62.6%	★★★☆☆
2019	46.9	255 of 412	38.1%	★★☆☆☆
2018	77.9	61 of 414	85.3%	★★★★☆

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

Multi-racial (2019)48th percentile+13 vs school

Homeless (2022)47th percentile+15 vs school

Male (2025)37th percentile+11 vs school

White (2025)32nd percentile+6 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)29th percentile~ school

Special Education (2025)29th percentile~ school

Native American (2025)26th percentile~ school

Female (2025)19th percentile-8 vs school

High school

Native American (2025)50th percentile+15 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)48th percentile+13 vs school

Male (2025)41st percentile+6 vs school

White (2025)20th percentile-15 vs school

Female (2025)20th percentile-16 vs school

Special Education (2019)5th percentile-23 vs school

Multi-racial (2019)<1st percentile-28 vs school

By subject vs Minnesota (2024-2025) ?

Reading43%-7 vs state

Math18%-27 vs state

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Schools Near Deer River Secondary

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 6th Grade	MCA-III Math 7th Grade	MCA-III Math 8th Grade	MCA-III Math 11th Grade	MCA-III Math All Grades	MCA-III Reading 6th Grade	MCA-III Reading 7th Grade	MCA-III Reading 8th Grade	MCA-III Reading 10th Grade	MCA-III Reading All Grades	Total
Deer River Secondary	Public	6-12	101 1st Ave NE	Deer River	56636	Itasca County	Deer River Public School District	No	No	No	Yes	(218) 246-8241	425	40	10.6	59.1%	215 (50.6%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.9%)	4 (0.9%)	147 (34.6%)	0 (0.0%)	55 (12.9%)	41	292^nd of 450 public high schools	35.1%		40.8	308^th of 480 public high schools	35.8%	16	21.6	14.3	23.1	10.5	17.8	49.1	39.3	33.3	50.0	42.8	$17,552
Deer River High School ALP	Public	10-12	101 1st Ave NE	Deer River	56636	Itasca County	Deer River Public School District	No	No	No	Yes	(218) 246-8241	13	0		76.9%	2 (15.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (61.5%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (23.1%)								(n/a)											$8,422
Grand Rapids Senior High	Public	9-12	800 Conifer Dr NW	Grand Rapids	55744	Itasca County	Grand Rapids Public School District	No	No	No	No	(218) 327-5760	1,091	56	19.4	35.8%	928 (85.1%)	7 (0.6%)	29 (2.7%)	2 (0.2%)	78 (7.1%)	1 (0.1%)	46 (4.2%)	64.2	171^st of 450 public high schools	62.0%		60.9	204^th of 480 public high schools	57.5%	33				36.5	36.5				50.6	50.6	$13,413
Infinity: Minnesota Digital Academy	Public	9-12	601 SW 7th St	Grand Rapids	55744	Itasca County	Infinity: Minnesota Digital Academy	No	No	No	No	(800) 624-4072	0	7	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Grand Rapids Area Learning Center	Public	8-12	650 SW 7th Ave	Grand Rapids	55744	Itasca County	Grand Rapids Public School District	No	No	No	No	(218) 327-5750	129	5	26.7	62.8%	106 (82.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (6.2%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (10.9%)								(n/a)				1.9	1.9						$11,995
Greenway Senior High	Public	9-12	308 Roosevelt St	Coleraine	55722	Itasca County	Greenway Public School District	No	No	No	No	(218) 245-1287	271	21	13.2	45.8%	214 (79.0%)	2 (0.7%)	7 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (7.7%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (10.0%)	59.2	206^th of 450 public high schools	54.2%		50.2	257^th of 480 public high schools	46.5%	51				29.8	29.8				51.9	51.9	$17,824
Northland Secondary	Public	6-12	316 Main St E	Remer	56672	Cass County	Northland Community Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(218) 566-2351	149	11	13.4	71.8%	77 (51.7%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	69 (46.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.7%)	49.6	257^th of 450 public high schools	42.9%		20.9	388^th of 480 public high schools	19.2%	131	11.8	19.2	6.7	11.8	13.3	29.4	15.4	31.3	64.3	31.5	$24,323
Little Sand	Public	7-12	316 Main St E	Remer	56672	Cass County	Northland Community Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(218) 566-2351	10	1	11.7	70.0%	8 (80.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (10.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (10.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)											$17,342

Frequently Asked Questions about Deer River Secondary

Is Deer River Secondary a good school?

Deer River Secondary ranks 292^nd of 450 Minnesota high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What district is Deer River Secondary in?

Deer River Public School District

How many students attend Deer River Secondary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 425 students attended Deer River Secondary.

What schools feed into Deer River Secondary?

Deer River Secondary is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : King Elementary

What is the racial makeup of Deer River Secondary?

Students at Deer River Secondary are 51% White, 35% American Indian, 13% Two or more races.

Rate Deer River Secondary!

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Schools in Deer River, 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.