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Sawtooth Mountain Elementary

Public Grades PK, KG-5
692nd
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 872 Minnesota Elementary Schools
Better than 21% of Minnesota elementary schools
Summary

Sawtooth Mountain Elementary is a public elementary school located in Grand Marais, Minnesota, serving grades PK-5 with a total enrollment of 192 students. The school is part of the Cook County Public Schools district, which is ranked 291 out of 446 districts in the state.

Sawtooth Mountain Elementary has consistently ranked in the bottom half of Minnesota elementary schools, with a ranking between 421 and 692 out of 869-872 schools over the past 10 years. The school's performance on the MCA-III assessments is generally below the state averages in both math and reading, with proficiency rates of 23.53% in math and 38.37% in reading, compared to the state averages of 45.21% and 49.59%, respectively. Compared to the nearby Great Expectations charter school, Sawtooth Mountain Elementary lags behind in academic performance, with Great Expectations often outperforming the school by 20-30 percentage points.

The school's student population is predominantly White, and it has a higher percentage of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, with 48.44% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch in 2023-2024, compared to 36.67% at Great Expectations. Sawtooth Mountain Elementary has a relatively low student-teacher ratio, ranging from 7.8 to 11.7 over the past three years, which is lower than the 9.8 ratio at Great Expectations. However, the school's academic performance has steadily declined over the past decade, suggesting that the school may need to focus on addressing the specific needs of its underperforming student subgroups to improve overall outcomes.

203
Students ?
10.2
Student/teacher ratio ?
$15,755
Per pupil spending ?
44.8%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 101 W 5th St
       Grand Marais, MN  55604-1337

(218) 387-2271

District: Cook County Public Schools


Students who attend Sawtooth Mountain Elementary usually attend:

Middle:    Cook County Middle
High:    Cook County Senior High
Racial breakdown:

White:
68.5%
American Indian:
12.8%
Two or more races:
11.8%
more
 See top rated Minnesota elementary schools

 Compare Sawtooth Mountain Elementary to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 33rd percentile in 2015 → 21st in 2025
Strengths
✓Small classes — about 10 students per teacher
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Minnesota average (31% vs 47% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (21st percentile)
!Ranking has slipped — down 12 percentile points since 2015
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school31%
District avg33%
Minnesota avg47%
692nd of 872
Minnesota public elementary schools ?
Bottom 21%▼ down 13 pts since 2015
From bottom 33% (2015) to bottom 21% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of Minnesota Elementary Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
291st of 446Cook County Public Schools 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

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMinnesota percentileRating
202523.3692 of 87220.6%★☆☆☆☆
202428.3665 of 88124.5%★☆☆☆☆
202348.3503 of 84540.5%★★☆☆☆
202251.8478 of 85844.3%★★☆☆☆
202156.9421 of 86951.6%★★★☆☆
201949.8512 of 87041.1%★★☆☆☆
201852.2480 of 84743.3%★★☆☆☆
201747.0539 of 85336.8%★★☆☆☆
201635.6627 of 84826.1%★☆☆☆☆
201545.2559 of 84033.5%★★☆☆☆
201443.6562 of 82632.0%★★☆☆☆
201338.6603 of 82426.8%★☆☆☆☆
201237.5636 of 82022.4%★☆☆☆☆
201149.7513 of 81437.0%★★☆☆☆
201053.5480 of 80340.2%★★☆☆☆
200942.6310 of 43428.6%★☆☆☆☆
200857.9391 of 78149.9%★★★☆☆
200763.2290 of 77762.7%★★★☆☆
200667.7227 of 75670.0%★★★★☆
200555.0379 of 68544.7%★★☆☆☆
200453.4372 of 67645.0%★★☆☆☆
200372.7149 of 67477.9%★★★★☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMinnesota percentileRating
202530.3595 of 79925.5%★☆☆☆☆
202425.7638 of 80921.1%★☆☆☆☆
202354.0402 of 78748.9%★★☆☆☆
202243.6509 of 79936.3%★★☆☆☆
202151.6440 of 78343.8%★★☆☆☆
201952.5463 of 78741.2%★★☆☆☆
201853.8430 of 77444.4%★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMinnesota percentileRating
202517.9667 of 76412.7%★☆☆☆☆
202418.4684 of 79313.7%★☆☆☆☆
202321.8637 of 77417.7%★☆☆☆☆
201927.6595 of 74019.6%★☆☆☆☆
201850.4401 of 72844.9%★★☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMinnesota percentileRating
202517.1689 of 81215.1%★☆☆☆☆
202430.2621 of 82624.8%★☆☆☆☆
202338.5551 of 79931.0%★★☆☆☆
202260.0334 of 80858.7%★★★☆☆
201937.1578 of 79827.6%★☆☆☆☆
201849.6469 of 77939.8%★★☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMinnesota percentileRating
202520.1635 of 71411.1%★☆☆☆☆
202423.9618 of 73015.3%★☆☆☆☆
202334.9512 of 71228.1%★☆☆☆☆
202240.4469 of 72535.3%★★☆☆☆
202128.4588 of 71017.2%★☆☆☆☆
201934.4557 of 72222.9%★☆☆☆☆
201840.7478 of 71232.9%★★☆☆☆
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)
Female (2025)26th percentile+5 vs school
Male (2025)15th percentile-5 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)13th percentile-8 vs school
White (2025)11th percentile-10 vs school
By subject vs Minnesota (2024-2025) ?
Reading38%-11 vs state
Math24%-22 vs state

★
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Frequently Asked Questions about Sawtooth Mountain Elementary

In the 2024-25 school year, 203 students attended Sawtooth Mountain Elementary.

Sawtooth Mountain Elementary ranks in the bottom 20.6% of Minnesota elementary schools.

Students at Sawtooth Mountain Elementary are 68% White, 13% American Indian, 12% Two or more races, 7% Hispanic.

Students who attend Sawtooth Mountain Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Cook County Middle
High : Cook County Senior High


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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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