Summary
Fridley Middle is a grade 5–8 school serving 694 students in the Fridley Public School District in Fridley, a northern Twin Cities suburb, enrolling a high-poverty population — 72.1% of students qualified for free or reduced lunch in 2024–25, down from 76.1% two years earlier. Its student-to-teacher ratio improved to 11.7, lower than most nearby middle schools. In 2025–26 the school ranked 334th of 546 Minnesota middle schools (39th percentile, 2 stars), up from the 20th–27th percentile and 1 star it generally held from 2021 to 2024. Proficiency rates were 28.8% in math, 35.5% in reading, and 17.9% in science, all below state averages; reading is above the district average, while math shows the largest gap to the state.
Compared with nearby high-poverty middle schools, Fridley Middle stands out. Its proficiency rates are often two to five times higher than those at KIPP North Star Academy, Prodeo Columbia Heights Middle, Olson Middle, Columbia Academy, and Brooklyn Center Middle School. For example, its 28.8% math rate is more than 14 points above Prodeo's and roughly 24 points above KIPP's, Olson's, and Brooklyn Center's. The two Mounds View schools nearby, Edgewood Middle School and Highview Middle School, do outperform Fridley Middle in math and reading — but they serve far lower-poverty populations (48.4% and 39.1% free/reduced lunch). Science is a striking exception: Edgewood's 18.3% is only 0.4 points above Fridley Middle's 17.9%.
The school's overall results also hide wide differences across grades and student groups. Eighth grade is a clear outlier: its math proficiency (39.7%) approaches the state rate, and its science rate (16.8%) nearly matches the state's, while grades 5–7 math hovers around 25%. Effectiveness varies by subgroup, with English language learners ranking well above the school's overall standing while special education students rank near the bottom (13th percentile in 2025–26, and persistently low in prior years). Because 72.1% of students come from low-income families, comparing Fridley Middle with schools serving similar populations gives a more favorable picture than state-average comparisons alone.
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