The top reported proficiency rate is 38% in Math. The lowest is 6% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Rochester Math and Science Academy
Rochester Math and Science Academy is a small, focused K-8 district in Olmsted County that serves a student body that is almost entirely one demographic group. The district's enrollment is overwhelmingly Black, with a very small number of Asian students and students of two or more races. No white, Hispanic, or Native American students were reported in the data. The district serves a small total enrollment spread across kindergarten through eighth grade, with each grade level having a comparable number of students. Free or reduced-price meal eligibility data, as well as special education and English learner counts, were not available.
State assessment results show a varied picture across grade levels and subjects. In mathematics, proficiency rates range from lower performance in the earlier grades to rates that climb higher in the middle school years, with the eighth-grade rate reaching a notably higher level than the district's overall elementary performance. Reading proficiency follows a similar pattern: the early elementary grades post lower rates, while later grades show improvement, with eighth graders reaching a rate that is meaningfully higher than the district's younger students. Science results for both fifth and eighth grade are very low. Because the school uses a K-8 configuration and does not serve high school grades, there is no graduation rate to report. When compared to other districts in Olmsted County, Rochester Math and Science Academy’s overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile among the nine districts in the county.
The district has undergone a structural change that families should be aware of. According to publicly reported information from the Minnesota Department of Education, Rochester STEM Academy was consolidated into Rochester Math and Science Academy effective fiscal year 2025. The district has also expanded its grade span. While the data reviewed for this district describes a K-8 entity, publicly available records now list three schools under the district name: an elementary school serving kindergarten through sixth grade, a secondary school serving ninth through twelfth grade, and an online program serving seventh through twelfth grade. This represents a recent expansion of educational options and a shift in what the district offers, though the testing data available here reflects only the K-8 configuration.
Chronic absenteeism, a measure of how often students miss school, is in the top quartile among Olmsted County's districts, meaning it is low compared to peers. Per-pupil spending falls in the upper half of the middle range among the county's districts. The district's spending is above the median for the group.
This is a small, tightly focused district that, based on the available data, serves a student population that is almost entirely Black and that has expanded its structure and grade offerings in the recent past. Math and reading outcomes improve as students move through the grade levels, with the strongest results in eighth grade. Early elementary literacy and science achievement across the board are areas a parent may want to look into further with the school. The absence of certain data points, such as economic disadvantage rates and special education counts, limits the full picture, but the readily available information paints a district with a dedicated academic pathway that shows a clear upward trajectory in performance for its older students.
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