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Pine River-Backus Elementary

Q: Is Pine River-Backus Elementary a good school?

Pine River-Backus Elementary ranks 375 th of 872 Minnesota elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Public Grades PK, KG-6

375^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 872 Minnesota Elementary Schools

Better than 57% of Minnesota elementary schools

Summary

Pine River-Backus Elementary is a public elementary school serving 477 students in grades PK-6 in Pine River, Minnesota. The school is part of the Pine River-Backus School District, which is ranked 296 out of 446 districts in the state and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Academically, Pine River-Backus Elementary has consistently ranked in the bottom half of Minnesota elementary schools over the past 10 years, with performance on state assessments generally below the state average in both math and reading. Compared to nearby schools like Nisswa Elementary and Eagle View Elementary, Pine River-Backus Elementary performs worse, with significantly lower proficiency rates. However, the school does outperform the nearby Crosslake Community Seat Based school.

The school's student population has a high percentage of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, with 68.55% qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch in 2023-2024. This is higher than the nearby Nisswa Elementary (29.8%) and Eagle View Elementary (41.5%), but lower than Crosslake Community Seat Based (43.79%). The school's student-teacher ratio of 12.1 is also higher than some nearby schools, which may be a contributing factor to its academic challenges.

478

Students ?

12.8

Student/teacher ratio ?

$11,652

Per pupil spending ?

68%

Free/discounted lunch ?

401 Murray Ave
Pine River, MN 56474-8888

(218) 587-4447

District: Pine River-Backus School District

Students who attend Pine River-Backus Elementary usually attend:

High:

Pine River-Backus High School

Racial breakdown:

White:

89.7%

Two or more races:

5.4%

Hispanic:

2.9%

See top rated Minnesota elementary schools

Compare Pine River-Backus Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 27th percentile in 2015 → 57th in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 30 percentile points since 2015

✓Above the Minnesota median (57th percentile)

Worth a look

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

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school51%

District avg41%

Minnesota avg47%

375^th of 872

Minnesota public elementary schools ?

Top 43%▲ up 30 pts since 2015

From bottom 27% (2015) to top 43% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Minnesota Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

296^th of 446Pine River-Backus 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	59.7	375 of 872	57.0%	★★★☆☆
2024	46.9	530 of 881	39.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	42.7	554 of 845	34.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	39.7	589 of 858	31.4%	★★☆☆☆
2021	42.4	581 of 869	33.1%	★★☆☆☆
2019	45.6	560 of 870	35.6%	★★☆☆☆
2018	46.1	542 of 847	36.0%	★★☆☆☆
2017	52.3	485 of 853	43.1%	★★☆☆☆
2016	44.7	563 of 848	33.6%	★★☆☆☆
2015	37.1	617 of 840	26.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	30.0	660 of 826	20.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	31.3	651 of 824	21.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	56.9	444 of 820	45.9%	★★☆☆☆
2011	53.5	471 of 814	42.1%	★★☆☆☆
2010	44.9	578 of 803	28.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	37.6	610 of 781	21.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	36.4	626 of 777	19.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	48.7	475 of 756	37.2%	★★☆☆☆
2005	60.0	302 of 685	55.9%	★★★☆☆
2004	66.5	222 of 676	67.2%	★★★☆☆
2003	62.1	274 of 674	59.3%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	61.9	313 of 799	60.8%	★★★☆☆
2024	44.8	500 of 809	38.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	38.6	538 of 787	31.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	43.7	507 of 799	36.5%	★★☆☆☆
2021	37.1	565 of 783	27.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	35.6	578 of 787	26.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	47.9	481 of 774	37.9%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	68.2	180 of 764	76.4%	★★★★☆
2024	55.1	355 of 793	55.2%	★★★☆☆
2023	56.4	337 of 774	56.5%	★★★☆☆
2022	49.8	341 of 663	48.6%	★★☆☆☆
2021	55.6	310 of 683	54.6%	★★★☆☆
2019	55.6	335 of 740	54.7%	★★★☆☆
2018	52.4	378 of 728	48.1%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	52.7	419 of 812	48.4%	★★☆☆☆
2024	45.5	498 of 826	39.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	45.4	487 of 799	39.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	33.4	603 of 808	25.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	45.0	509 of 784	35.1%	★★☆☆☆
2019	52.4	448 of 798	43.9%	★★☆☆☆
2018	42.5	532 of 779	31.7%	★★☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	29.7	425 of 562	24.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	35.8	389 of 572	32.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	48.6	262 of 524	50.0%	★★★☆☆
2022	42.1	310 of 500	38.0%	★★☆☆☆
2021	50.3	199 of 417	52.3%	★★★☆☆
2019	58.6	202 of 515	60.8%	★★★☆☆
2018	29.9	332 of 463	28.3%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Minnesota percentile	Rating
2025	37.5	493 of 714	31.0%	★★☆☆☆
2024	25.7	608 of 730	16.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	21.0	634 of 712	11.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	19.4	654 of 725	9.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	18.1	654 of 710	7.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	22.4	644 of 722	10.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	23.7	628 of 712	11.8%	★☆☆☆☆

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)76th percentile+19 vs school

Female (2025)61st percentile+4 vs school

Male (2025)48th percentile-9 vs school

White (2025)31st percentile-26 vs school

Special Education (2025)24th percentile-33 vs school

By subject vs Minnesota (2024-2025) ?

Reading58%+8 vs state

Math45%~ state avg

★

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Schools Near Pine River-Backus Elementary

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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
Pine River-Backus Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	401 Murray Ave	Pine River	56474	Cass County	Pine River-Backus School District	No	No	No	Yes	(218) 587-4447	478	37	12.8	68.0%	429 (89.7%)	2 (0.4%)	14 (2.9%)	3 (0.6%)	4 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (5.4%)	59.7	375^th of 872 public elementary schools	57.0%		46.9	530^th of 881 public elementary schools	39.8%	155	71.2	57.9	28.8	26.0	45.1	62.7	50.9	57.5	60.0	57.7	$11,652
Eagle View Elementary	Public	PK, KG-4	6539 County Rd 11	Breezy Point	56472	Crow Wing County	Pequot Lakes Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(218) 562-6100	557	44	12.5	36.6%	530 (95.2%)	2 (0.4%)	13 (2.3%)	3 (0.5%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.1%)	80.2	147^th of 872 public elementary schools	83.1%		81.8	124^th of 881 public elementary schools	85.9%	23	68.1	73.6			70.9	54.0	66.7			60.3	$10,458
Crosslake Community Seat Based	Public, Charter	K-8	35808 County Rd 66	Crosslake	56442	Crow Wing County	Crosslake Community Charter School	Yes	No	No	Yes	(218) 692-5437	150	18	8.3	36.7%	130 (86.7%)	5 (3.3%)	10 (6.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (3.3%)	39.3	578^th of 872 public elementary schools	33.7%		47.2	527^th of 881 public elementary schools	40.2%	51	41.2	28.6	33.3	16.7	32.5	50.0	38.1	46.7	83.3	54.9	$12,610
Crosslake Community K-5 Online	Public, Virtual, Charter	K-5	35808 County Road 66	Crosslake	56442	Crow Wing County	Crosslake Community Charter School	Yes	No	Yes	No	(218) 537-3623	33	2	16.1	63.6%	28 (84.8%)	1 (3.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (6.1%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (6.1%)								(n/a)
Nisswa Elementary	Public	PK, KG-4	5533 Lakers Lane	Nisswa	56468	Crow Wing County	Brainerd Public School District	No	No	No	No	(218) 961-6860	249	18	13.8	27.3%	233 (93.6%)	1 (0.4%)	4 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (3.6%)	75.4	203^rd of 872 public elementary schools	76.7%		79.7	147^th of 881 public elementary schools	83.3%	56	64.3	83.0			72.8	46.4	66.0			55.3	$12,324

Frequently Asked Questions about Pine River-Backus Elementary

Is Pine River-Backus Elementary a good school?

Pine River-Backus Elementary ranks 375^th of 872 Minnesota elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

What schools do graduates of Pine River-Backus Elementary attend?

Students who attend Pine River-Backus Elementary usually go on to attend:

High : Pine River-Backus High School

What district is Pine River-Backus Elementary in?

Pine River-Backus School District

What is the racial makeup of Pine River-Backus Elementary?

Students at Pine River-Backus Elementary are 90% White, 5% Two or more races, 3% Hispanic.

How many students attend Pine River-Backus Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 478 students attended Pine River-Backus Elementary.

Rate Pine River-Backus Elementary!

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Latest Minnesota data All new data »

2024–25 dropout rates & graduation ratesJun 13, 2026

2024–25 MCA-III test scoresAug 29, 2025

2023–24 dropout rates & graduation ratesMay 8, 2025

2022–23 graduation ratesDec 2, 2024

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.