Summary:
ZIP code 56633 contains just one public elementary school — Cass Lake-Bena Elementary, located at 15271 61st Ave NW in Cass Lake and serving about 450 students in grades PK–5 as part of Cass Lake-Bena Public Schools. Because it is the only elementary campus in this ZIP code, families here have no other public elementary option in this data set, which makes this school's results the whole story for the area rather than one point in a comparison.
Academically, the school's proficiency rates sit well below Minnesota averages in every subject. In 2025–2026, 23.2% of students met standards in math versus 44.9% statewide, 27.5% in reading versus 48.6%, and 8.6% in science versus 25.5%. The weakest results are in grade 5, where math proficiency was 9.8% against a 41.9% state figure and science was 8.6% against 25.9%. Grade 4 math, at 31.1%, is the school's strongest subject-and-grade result, though it is still 24.1 points below the state average of 55.2%. Reading is more even across grades, ranging from 23.3% in grade 3 to 30.5% in grade 5, but each grade remains roughly 20–24 points under its state benchmark. At the all-grade level the school does outperform its own district in all three subjects (math 23.2% vs. 13.7% district-wide, reading 27.5% vs. 22.1%, science 8.6% vs. 5.6%).
The school's relative standing among Minnesota schools has been slipping: it ranked in the 21st percentile in 2023–2024, the 17th in 2024–2025, and the 12th in 2025–2026, holding 1 star each year. The district is ranked 425th of 458 statewide, in the 7th percentile with 0 stars. All-grade math fell from 35.58% to 23.2% year over year, while reading rose slightly from 25.77% to 27.5% (that reading comparison comes with a caveat, since the exam label changed from MCA-III to MCA-IV). Notably, 85.33% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch and the student-teacher ratio is a favorable 10.1 to 1 — a structural strength worth building on, particularly around grade 5 math and science.
Thank you for your feedback!