Highland Park Middle School

Highland Park Middle School, located at 975 Snelling Ave S in Saint Paul, serves about 811 students in grades 6–8 and is the largest school in its local comparison group within Saint Paul Public Schools, a district ranked 346th of 458 in Minnesota. In 2025–2026, the school ranked 234th of 546 Minnesota middle schools — 57th percentile, 3 stars — its highest position in a decade and 33 percentile points above its district. That makes it the top-ranked of the three Saint Paul Public Schools middle schools compared here.

Reading is a genuine strength: 47.4% proficiency, 13.2 points above the district and just 1.2 points below the state. Math has improved four straight years to 31.3%, though it remains 13.6 points below the state and flat across grades (30.7–31.7%), pointing to a curriculum-wide challenge. Compared with Hidden River Middle School — same district, similar poverty — Highland Park wins in reading and science (20.2% vs. 11.0%). Wealthier Sanford Middle and Laura Jeffrey Academy Charter outscore it but serve far fewer low-income students. Special education students rank at the 58th percentile, above the school’s overall standing.

The long-term trend is real: from 374th of 508 in 2015–2016 to 234th now, with math up 8.8 points and reading up 4 points over four years. Yet a wide internal gap remains — low-income students rank 15th percentile and English learners 16th, while the school’s highest-performing subgroup ranks 90th. Poverty has dipped only slightly (53.3% to 48.2%), so the gains aren’t explained by demographic change. Within the district, it clearly leads Global Arts Plus Upper (13th percentile, 1 star). Science is volatile, and the all-grades science figure is an uneven comparison because Minnesota tests science in grade 5, which this school doesn’t serve; the grade-8 result — above state — is more meaningful. Parents should see a school on a genuine upswing, with reading and special education as strengths and math and equity as the work ahead.