Original Research by School Decision on Hazen 3
Hazen Public SchoolDistrict is a small, single-community district in Mercer County, North Dakota, serving students from kindergarten through twelfth grade across three schools: Hazen Elementary, Hazen Middle School, and Hazen High School. The enrollment is modest for a district covering the full K-12 span, with fairly even distribution across grade levels. The student body is predominantly white, with small representation from other racial and ethnic groups. Data on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, individualized education plans, and English learner status was not available, so those dimensions of student need could not be assessed here.
On state assessments, Hazen uses the ND A-PLUS exam, and the 2024-25 results show a mixed but generally middling academic picture. In math, proficiency varies by grade. Third grade sits around the midpoint. Fourth grade stands out as a relative strength, with a solid majority of students reaching proficiency. Fifth and sixth grades dip below half. Seventh grade is the district's strongest math result, with a strong majority proficient. Eighth grade returns to around half. The pattern suggests some inconsistency in math preparation as students move through the middle grades, and a parent may want to look into how the district supports math continuity between grade bands.
English language arts results follow a similar uneven trajectory. Third, fifth, and seventh grades show more than half of students proficient. Fourth grade is a clear soft spot, with well under four in ten students meeting the bar. Sixth and eighth grades both sit below half. Science was tested in fourth and eighth grades, with fourth grade showing a solid majority proficient and eighth grade around half. Participation rates were strong across all tested grades and subjects. Because the state changed both the assessment name and cut scores this year, trend comparisons against prior years are not possible, so these results should be read as a baseline under the new framework rather than as a year-over-year signal.
No graduation rate data was provided for the district, and no information on advanced coursework, career and technical education, dual-credit opportunities, or other program offerings was available. Staffing data, attendance figures, and discipline reports were also absent. We looked for the district's strategic priorities or recent changes and found little of lasting impact in publicly available sources, so that context is left out rather than guessed.
The housing market in the area is relatively affordable compared with both state and national benchmarks. The district-weighted typical home value sits below the North Dakota state benchmark and well below the national figure. Year-over-year home value growth has been modest. The estimated monthly mortgage on a typical home is moderate relative to national median household income, and the price-to-income ratio suggests the area remains within reach for many working families. Rental data was not available. The district draws primarily from the Hazen area, with small contributions from nearby Beulah and New Salem housing markets, though no detailed locale or community brief was provided to describe the towns in depth.
No neighbor comparison fact-set was available to position Hazen among other Mercer County districts, so readers should treat the academic results above as a standalone snapshot rather than a relative ranking.
What the data does show is a small, stable district where state test results swing notably by grade and subject, with some grades performing well and others sitting below the proficiency midpoint. The housing is affordable, the community appears compact, and the enrollment is small enough that individual grade cohorts can shift results from year to year. Families considering Hazen would benefit from asking the district directly about its approach to math and reading continuity through the middle grades, what high school programming is available beyond what is captured here, and how it supports students who fall below proficiency.
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