Best Academy, Minneapolis MN - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Best Academy

Best Academy is a K-8 charter school located on Olson Memorial Highway in Minneapolis, a dense urban setting within Hennepin County. The school is a regular public school operating under its own district of the same name, Best Academy. The district has undergone recent shifts: a fully online K-8 program called Wakanda Virtual Academy was added, expanding options for families who want a remote learning path. At the same time, the district’s Penn Avenue campus was listed as not active by the state, meaning the school now operates from a single physical location on Olson Memorial Highway. There is also a planned consolidation involving Central Lakes Adventure School into Harvest Best Academy for the upcoming fiscal year, broadening the district’s organizational structure.

Best Academy’s student body is predominantly Black, with a very small share of students who are white, Hispanic, Asian, American Indian, or of two or more races. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school serves kindergarten through eighth grade, so there is no high school graduation rate to report, and the data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available.

State assessment results for the most recent testing year show that proficiency rates in math and reading varied by grade but were generally low overall. In mathematics, the share of students meeting state standards was below a quarter across most grades, with the highest rate appearing in eighth grade and lower rates in the middle grades. In reading, proficiency was somewhat higher in fifth and eighth grades compared to the other tested grades, but still below half of students. Science results, which were reported for fifth and eighth grade, showed proficiency rates in the single digits and just above that mark, respectively. Compared to other districts in Hennepin County, Best Academy’s overall proficiency index sits below the midpoint of the distribution. The data available covers only one year, so no trend direction can be drawn.

The school’s setting is within Minneapolis, a major urban center that serves as the state’s most populous city. It is a financial, corporate, educational, and cultural hub, home to the University of Minnesota’s main campus, major arts institutions, and the headquarters of Target Corporation. The city has a dense gridded downtown core, a historic riverfront mill district, and residential neighborhoods clustered around numerous lakes and parks. Public transit includes buses and light rail operated by Metro Transit. The city’s population has seen a modest decline in recent years, while the broader metro area continues to have a large regional economy.

Housing in the area around the school is more affordable than the state average. Home values and rents are both below Minnesota benchmarks, which may be relevant for families considering a move to be closer to the school. The national 30-year fixed mortgage rate and the national unemployment rate were both at moderate levels at the time of the data.

For a parent or resident trying to understand Best Academy, the picture is one of a charter school serving a predominantly Black and low-income student population in an urban setting. The academic proficiency numbers are low across tested subjects and grades, and the school’s performance is below the midpoint of Hennepin County districts. A parent may want to look into this further with the school, especially regarding student support and instruction, since the available data does not detail special education or English learner services. The district has recently added a virtual learning option and is consolidating some of its campuses, so families should confirm which physical location serves their child’s grade and whether any future changes might affect access. The school does not extend beyond eighth grade, so families with older students will need to plan for a different high school placement.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 324%

School 24% · District 27% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 31 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 421%

School 21% · District 25% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 30 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 513%

School 13% · District 20% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

Grade 610%

School 10% · District 8% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 710%

School 10% · District 12% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 833%

School 33% · District 27% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 319%

School 19% · District 24% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 417%

School 17% · District 17% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 535%

School 35% · District 40% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 625%

School 25% · District 32% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 720%

School 20% · District 25% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 842%

School 42% · District 44% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Science

Grade 59%

School 9% · District 10%

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 811%

School 11% · District 11%

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

This schoolBEST ACADEMY, 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.