The top reported proficiency rate is 46% in English language arts. The lowest is 17% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Higher Ground Academy
Higher Ground Academy serves students from kindergarten through twelfth grade in Ramsey County, Minnesota. The district is composed of three schools, HGA Elementary, HGA Junior High, and HGA Secondary. It is a single district, not part of a larger traditional school system, and the available data does not specify whether it operates as a charter or magnet school.
The student body is around a thousand. The demographic makeup is distinctive: nearly all students are Black or African American, with a small number of white students reported and no significant representation of other racial or ethnic groups. Data on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch is missing, and information on students with disabilities and English learners is not available in the source materials.
On state assessments, which are the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment III and the Minnesota Test of Academic Skills for math and reading, and a newer science assessment, the picture is mixed. In math, proficiency rates by grade level vary widely. In the elementary years, particularly fourth and fifth grades, rates approach or exceed half of students meeting standards. By sixth and seventh grade, the share proficient drops notably, before recovering somewhat in eighth grade, where about half of students scored proficient. In English language arts, the pattern is steadier across grades, with proficiency mostly between a third and a little over half, and the strongest result in eighth grade. Science results, for grades five and eight, are where the district struggles most, with a small share of students scoring proficient. The district's overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places it in the top quartile among Ramsey County's districts, though that average is pulled down by the elementary and middle school grades where performance is lower and by science. The reader should note that the science test changed format and cut scores in recent years, which means these results are not directly comparable to prior years.
Chronic absenteeism is tracked at a rate near the middle of Ramsey County districts, meaning about a third of students miss a substantial number of school days. Graduation rate data is not available in the materials provided. The district's per-pupil spending falls in the lower half of the middle range when compared to other Ramsey County districts.
The data does not include any information about course offerings such as Advanced Placement, career and technical education, or dual-credit programs. No details are available on the district's discipline policies, staffing ratios, or class sizes. There is no community or economic context for the area served by the district, so a reader cannot assess the housing market, local employment, or the surrounding neighborhood from this report.
A search for recent district changes turned up mostly directory listings and mission statements, with no clear evidence of major shifts in programming, leadership, or facilities that would matter to a family choosing a school. The district's academic profile shows real strengths, particularly in certain elementary reading and math grades and in its eighth-grade results, alongside clear soft spots in middle-grade math and in science across the board. Families considering Higher Ground Academy should seek out more detail on special education services, English learner support, high school graduation outcomes, and what college or career pathways are available at the secondary level, as those are all gaps in the public data.
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