The top reported proficiency rate is 28% in English language arts. The lowest is 7% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on New Century School
New Century School is a small, single-district charter system in Ramsey County, Minnesota, serving students from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. The district operates four schools: New Century School, New Century School Secondary, NCS Online Program, and Compass Academy. The district’s enrollment is small for a PK-12 system, and the student body is almost entirely Black. The district’s website, publicly reported, notes that New Century Academy opened in fall 2023 as a program for students who have not found success in traditional settings, offering smaller classes and individualized learning plans. The district also runs an NCS Online Program for K-12 students anywhere in Minnesota, expanding access beyond its physical locations.
State testing data for the 2024-25 school year shows that proficiency rates in math, reading, and science are low across all tested grades. In math, the share of students scoring proficient or above declines from the early elementary grades into the middle grades, where it falls to a very small share. In reading, proficiency rates are also low, though they show a slightly wider range across grades. Science proficiency rates are very low in both tested grades. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand the academic supports in place. The district’s overall proficiency index, which averages results across tested subjects and grades, sits below the midpoint among Ramsey County’s districts.
The district’s chronic absenteeism rate, by contrast, is in the top quartile among Ramsey County districts, meaning a relatively small share of students are chronically absent. Per-pupil current spending falls in the middle range, upper half, of the county’s districts.
The student body is almost entirely Black, with a very small number of white and Hispanic students. The district does not report the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, nor the share of students with disabilities or English learners, so a parent may want to ask the district directly about these supports. The district’s enrollment is small, and the grade-level counts show a steady decline from kindergarten through twelfth grade, with no twelfth graders reported in the most recent data.
The district’s overall proficiency index, which averages results across tested subjects and grades, sits below the midpoint among Ramsey County’s districts. Chronic absenteeism, however, is in the top quartile among the county’s districts, meaning a relatively small share of students are chronically absent. Per-pupil current spending falls in the middle range, upper half, of the county’s districts.
The district operates four schools: New Century School, New Century School Secondary, NCS Online Program, and Compass Academy. Publicly reported information indicates that New Century Academy opened in fall 2023 as a program for students who have not found success in traditional settings, with smaller class sizes and individualized learning plans. The NCS Online Program serves K-12 students from anywhere in Minnesota through a fully online format, expanding access beyond the district’s physical locations.
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