917 Sun, Rosemount MN - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on 917 Sun

917 SUN is a special education school serving students from kindergarten through twelfth grade in Rosemount, Minnesota. It is part of Intermediate School District 917, a cooperative agency that provides specialized programs for several member districts across the region. The school’s enrollment is small, reflecting its focused mission: it serves students with disabilities who require a setting that a traditional neighborhood school cannot provide. Because this is a special education school, the student body at any given time is shaped by individual education plans and referral processes rather than neighborhood assignment or school choice in the ordinary sense.

Rosemount itself is a fast-growing suburban community roughly midway between the Twin Cities and the Mississippi River. It blends heavy industrial employment, agricultural research land, and a rapidly expanding residential base. Housing values and rents are above the state median, and the city has seen significant new construction in recent years. The school sits in a part of town where the built environment is auto-oriented, with major highways running through the city. Families considering 917 SUN would typically be referred through their home district’s special education department, so the housing market context matters primarily for where a family lives and which member district they belong to, not for direct enrollment boundaries.

On state assessments, the school’s results are very low relative to what one sees in typical public schools. In the most recent testing year, proficiency rates in math and reading were in the single digits or low teens across tested grades, with a small share of eighth graders meeting the bar in both subjects. Science results were similarly low, with a modest number of eighth graders reaching proficiency and fifth-grade results suppressed due to small group size. It is important to understand that these numbers come from Minnesota’s general state assessments, which are designed for the full student population. Many students at 917 SUN likely take alternate assessments or participate in a modified curriculum, so the reported proficiency rates do not capture the individualized progress that is the school’s actual goal. A parent considering the school should ask directly about the assessments their child would take, what growth measures the school tracks, and how the school defines academic success for students with different needs.

The student body is roughly evenly split between white students and students of color, with Black students and students identifying as two or more races making up substantial shares. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, indicating a population with significant economic need. The school serves all grade levels from kindergarten through high school, with the largest single grade being twelfth grade, which suggests that many students stay through graduation. The district brief did not surface any recent changes or initiatives; as an intermediate district, 917 operates programs that are fairly stable from year to year.

When compared with the other districts in Dakota County on an overall proficiency index, this school falls in the bottom quartile. That comparison, however, is of limited use because it mixes a special education school with conventional school districts. What the comparison usefully shows is that the academic profile of 917 SUN is very different from a typical district school, which is exactly what its mission would predict.

917 SUN is not a school a family chooses in the ordinary sense. It serves students whose disabilities are significant enough that a separate, specialized placement has been determined appropriate by their home district’s team. For that population, the relevant questions are about the school’s therapeutic and behavioral supports, the staff-to-student ratio, the transition services for older students, and the specific approach to instruction and personal growth. Those details were not available in the data used here. A family exploring this placement should ask the school and their own district for those specifics. The state test scores, while low, do not tell the story of whether this school is the right fit for a particular child.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

<50%Cohort of 11 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

649 schools plotted. 88 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Math

Grade 30%

School 0% · District 15% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 55 pts below state median · ▼ 54 pts below county median

Grade 40%

School 0% · District 9% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 51 pts below state median · ▼ 54 pts below county median

Grade 50%

School 0% · District 18% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▼ 35 pts below state median · ▼ 42 pts below county median

Grade 60%

School 0% · District 0%

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 32 pts below county median

Grade 70%

School 0% · District 8% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 31 pts below county median

Grade 89%

School 9% · District 7% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 30%

School 0% · District 0%

▼ 42 pts below state median · ▼ 44 pts below county median

Grade 40%

School 0% · District 9% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 41 pts below state median · ▼ 45 pts below county median

Grade 50%

School 0% · District 20% · ▼ 20 pts below district

▼ 54 pts below state median · ▼ 57 pts below county median

Grade 615%

School 15% · District 12% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 31 pts below state median · ▼ 34 pts below county median

Grade 70%

School 0% · District 9% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 36 pts below state median · ▼ 43 pts below county median

Grade 818%

School 18% · District 14% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Science

Grade 820%

School 20% · District 14% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

This schoolINTERMEDIATE SCHOOL DISTRICT 917, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.