Original Research by School Decision on High School for Recording Arts
High School for Recording Arts is a public charter high school in Saint Paul that serves students in grades nine through twelve. Because it is a charter school, it operates independently of the local school district, and families choose to enroll here. The school is located on University Avenue, a major commercial corridor in the city. Saint Paul itself is Minnesota’s capital and forms the eastern half of the Twin Cities metro area, a dense, diverse, and government-anchored city with a strong park system, cultural institutions, and a mix of residential neighborhoods.
The school’s enrollment is small for a high school, and its grade-level distribution is unusual. The largest share of students is in the twelfth grade, with much smaller numbers in the lower grades, particularly the ninth grade. This shape suggests that the school may take in a significant number of transfer students later in high school. The student body is predominantly Black, with a smaller but substantial Hispanic population, a modest share of students who identify as two or more races, and a very small number of white students. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that the school serves a population with significant economic need. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the reporting we consulted.
On state assessments, the school’s results are a concern for a family focused on conventional academic metrics. In English language arts, about three in ten students scored at the proficient level in the most recent testing year. In math, proficiency was considerably lower, with fewer than one in ten students meeting the bar. These are the only state testing data that were reported, so we cannot speak to trends over time. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand how these results fit into the school’s overall approach and what academic supports are in place. Because the school serves grades nine through twelve, its graduation rate would normally be a key measure, but that data was not available. The comparison fact-set that would place the school’s proficiency and graduation rate relative to other districts in Ramsey County could not be calculated because the school’s own metrics were missing; that comparison did not apply.
The school’s name signals a focus on recording arts, but our data did not include a detailed program inventory, so we cannot describe what that pathway looks like in practice—whether it is a career and technical education track, a set of elective courses, or a deeper program of study. Families interested in this school almost certainly know about its arts focus, and the school’s website would be the place to look for specifics.
This is a school where the core academic test scores are low, and the population it serves faces considerable economic disadvantage. For a family weighing options, the central question is whether the school’s arts-focused mission and charter environment provide a fit and a level of engagement that the test scores alone do not capture. The small enrollment and the concentration of students in the senior class also suggest a particular kind of environment, one where a student entering as an underclassman may be part of a very small cohort. The school operates on a University Avenue address in a city with good transit access, which matters for families without a car. Housing in the Saint Paul area has softened slightly in value recently, with a year-over-year decline, while rents have risen modestly, both trends consistent with the broader national housing market.
Because this is a single-school charter, there is no district to speak of for the purposes of recent policy or leadership changes, and we did not turn up any parent-relevant developments in research. The school’s character is defined by its size, its mission, and the population it serves. A family considering High School for Recording Arts should visit, ask about academic support structures, and get a clear picture of how the recording arts program operates day to day.
See more original research from School Decision →