The top reported proficiency rate is 36% in Math. The lowest is 9% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Surad Academy
Surad Academy is a public charter school district in Faribault, Minnesota, serving kindergarten through fifth grade. It opened in 2023 as a new public school choice in the area, and its stated plan, according to publicly reported information, is to add one grade level each year with the goal of eventually becoming a K-12 school.
The district is very small. Its enrollment is in the dozens, with a grade-span from kindergarten through fifth grade and a small number of students at each grade level. The student body is entirely Black. Because of the small numbers of students at some grade levels, the state suppressed proficiency results for several tested grades to protect student privacy, so the available testing picture is incomplete for a parent who wants to see a full set of scores.
For the grades where state assessment results are reported, the picture is mixed. In math, third graders showed a proficiency rate that was within a moderate range, while fifth graders posted a much lower result. In English language arts, third graders again performed at a lower rate, and fifth graders were in a moderate range. In science, which is tested in fifth grade, the proficiency rate was very low. These results represent a single year of data for a new school, so there is no trend to examine yet. A parent considering this school will want to discuss the academic program and student supports directly with the school to understand the full context of these numbers.
The overall proficiency index across all tested subjects and grades places Surad Academy above the midpoint among Rice County’s districts. This is a relative position within a set of eight districts, and it is useful to know that the index here is a mean of the reported rates, which means it is influenced by both the stronger third-grade math results and the weaker fifth-grade results.
Surad Academy uses a mastery-based model, which means students advance by demonstrating understanding of specific subskills rather than receiving traditional letter grades. Publicly reported information describes a culturally-responsive teaching approach and a low student-to-teacher ratio. Because the school is brand new and still growing, it does not yet serve students beyond fifth grade, and there is no history of graduation rates, chronic absenteeism data, or per-pupil spending figures to examine. The district does not yet have a track record a family can study over time.
The community context is Faribault, though the specific locale brief was not available in the data provided. A parent weighing this option will want to consider the district in its early stage: it offers a small, intentionally designed alternative to the area’s larger district schools, built around personalized pacing and a new instructional model, but with a very small enrollment and a limited testing record from its opening year. The absence of data on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, special education enrollment, and English learner populations means a family cannot yet compare those characteristics to the wider county. A parent should expect to visit the school, speak with staff about how the mastery model works day to day, and ask about supports for students who are below grade-level benchmarks in reading and math.
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