Cass Lake-bena Middle School, Cass Lake MN

Original Research by School Decision on Cass Lake-bena Middle School

Cass Lake-Bena Middle School is a regular public school serving grades five through eight. It sits in the small city of Cass Lake, within the Leech Lake Indian Reservation in north-central Minnesota. The school is part of the Cass Lake-Bena Public Schools district.

Enrollment is very small. The student body is overwhelmingly Native American, with a very small share of white students and even fewer from other racial backgrounds. A very high share of students come from low-income households, as measured by free or reduced-price meal eligibility. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available for this profile.

Academically, state testing results from the most recent school year show low proficiency rates in every subject and grade level tested. In math, the share of students meeting proficiency standards was in the single digits or low teens depending on the grade. In reading and language arts, proficiency was also low, ranging from roughly one in ten to a little more than one in four students reaching the bar. In science, tested in grades five and eight, proficiency was in the single digits. Participation rates on the state assessments were high, so the results reflect nearly the entire student body. When measured against other districts in Cass County, the school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades fell in the bottom quartile. Only a single year of state test data was available, so it is not possible to see a trend.

Because this is a middle school, there is no graduation rate to report. The data also did not include information on discipline, chronic absenteeism, staffing, or course access. A parent may want to ask the school directly about these areas, especially since chronic absenteeism can be a concern in rural communities with high poverty.

The community context matters for understanding this school. Cass Lake has experienced a long population decline, and its economy relies heavily on federal and tribal government employment, a sawmill, and services tied to the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. The loss of a major wood-products plant in prior years was a significant blow, and a former wood-treating site within the city is a federal Superfund cleanup location. Housing values in the area are well below the state average, though rents relative to incomes are not out of line with national norms. The area’s natural setting—on the shores of a large lake within the Chippewa National Forest—is the kind of asset some families value highly, but commercial street life and retail options are very limited.

The district narrative offered little recent change to report; the search found no major parent-relevant developments.

Given the test results and the economic conditions of the community, Cass Lake-Bena Middle School serves a student population facing significant challenges, and its academic performance is well below most other schools in the county. Families considering this school should expect a setting where a large majority of students are Native American and where poverty is the norm rather than the exception. The school’s small size and rural location on tribal land may appeal to families seeking a close-knit environment connected to the Leech Lake community. However, anyone evaluating the school will want to have direct conversations with staff about academic support, student engagement, and what steps are being taken to improve outcomes.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 515%

School 15% · District 15%

▼ 21 pts below state median

Grade 61%

School 1% · District 1%

▼ 26 pts below state median

Grade 75%

School 5% · District 5%

▼ 19 pts below state median

Grade 812%

School 12% · District 11% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 14 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 523%

School 23% · District 23%

▼ 31 pts below state median

Grade 614%

School 14% · District 14%

▼ 32 pts below state median

Grade 712%

School 12% · District 11%

▼ 24 pts below state median

Grade 828%

School 28% · District 25% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 8 pts below state median

Science

Grade 510%

School 10% · District 10%

▼ 15 pts below state median

Grade 89%

School 9% · District 8% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 3 pts below state median

This schoolCASS LAKE-BENA PUBLIC SCHOOLS, 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 5Lower-income17%Higher-income47%29 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income13%Higher-income20%7 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income11%Higher-income15%5 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income24%Higher-income39%14 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income13%Higher-income20%7 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income0%Higher-income8%8 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income7%Higher-income0%6 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income11%Higher-income15%5 pp gap