Minnehaha Elementary

Minnehaha Elementary is a PK–5 school in Two Harbors, Minnesota, on the North Shore of Lake Superior, serving 367 students in the Lake Superior Public School District — the largest of the three schools in this comparison. Statewide in 2025–26 it ranks 341 of 869 elementary schools: the 61st percentile, 3 stars. That places it modestly above the middle of Minnesota elementary schools and well ahead of its own district's standing (48th percentile).

Reading is the school's clear strength: 59.9% of students are proficient, about 11 points above the state and essentially level with North Shore Community School (61.1%). Math sits right at the state line (45.9% versus 44.9%), and science is exactly average (25.4% versus 25.5%). The defining feature is the gap between subjects — reading runs 14 points ahead of math here, compared with under 5 points at North Shore Community School, Lakewood Elementary and statewide. Lakewood Elementary in Duluth, about 18 miles away, scores far higher across the board (93rd percentile, 5 stars), though it serves a less economically disadvantaged population. Minnehaha has the smallest classes of the three (13.7 students per teacher) and the highest share of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch (39.2%).

The trajectory is split. Reading has gained 11 points over two years to its highest reported level, while math fell 12.7 points in a single year, and science has declined four years running — from 15 points above the state to roughly even. The school does particularly well with its low-income and special-education students, whose results rank well above its overall standing. Its weakest results cluster in the current 5th grade, where reading is 63.3% but math is 25.0%. Because only about 100–120 students test per grade, these swings deserve monitoring rather than immediate conclusions.