Menahga High School, Menahga MN - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Menahga High School

Menahga High School serves seventh through twelfth grade as a regular public school in the Menahga Public School District, the sole secondary school in a small, mostly residential town in Wadena County. The town sits at the intersection of two state highways in Minnesota’s lake country, with Spirit Lake, Memorial Park, and a well-known St. Urho statue drawing seasonal visitors. The community has grown very slowly over decades, and its economy is built around local government, the school district, and tourism-related businesses; residents likely commute to larger nearby towns for additional work. The built environment is spread out along the highways, with limited walkability and minimal street life outside of seasonal events.

The school enrolls a modest number of students for a secondary campus serving grades seven through twelve. The student body is overwhelmingly white, with small shares of Hispanic students and students identifying as two or more races; representation of Black, Asian, and American Indian students is very small. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting a community with above-average economic need. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the source material.

Academically, the school’s state assessment results are a mixed picture. In reading, proficiency rates for seventh and eighth graders are modest, while in math they are lower. Science results for eighth graders are sharply lower, though the state assessment for that subject underwent changes in name and cut scores during the year tested, making direct comparison uncertain. Only a single year of testing data was available, so no trend can be assessed. The school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places it in the bottom quartile relative to districts in Wadena County, a set that includes four districts. A parent considering the school may want to ask the school for more context on how its curriculum and support structures address these results.

A graduation rate was not reported in the data. Since the school serves twelfth grade, this is a notable gap for families evaluating outcomes. No information was available on chronic absenteeism, discipline, staffing ratios, or course access, and no program offerings such as Advanced Placement, dual credit, or career pathways were described in the source material. The district brief turned up no recent changes of lasting impact for parents to note.

The school sits within the town itself rather than on a separate campus, integrated into the small community fabric. Housing in the area is modestly priced relative to state and national benchmarks, and the town’s slow growth suggests a stable but unchanging housing market. For a family seeking a small rural school in a quiet lake-country setting, Menahga High School offers a close-knit environment and a student body with significant economic diversity. The academic picture, particularly in math and science, is one a family would want to investigate further with the school, and the absence of a reported graduation rate and program details leaves important questions unanswered.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

90-94%Cohort of 68 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 729%

School 29% · District 29%

▲ 5 pts above state median

Grade 837%

School 37% · District 37%

▲ 11 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 742%

School 42% · District 42%

▲ 6 pts above state median

Grade 845%

School 45% · District 45%

▲ 10 pts above state median

Science

Grade 87%

School 7% · District 7%

▼ 5 pts below state median

This schoolMENAHGA PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT, 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 7Lower-income29%Higher-income60%31 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income40%Higher-income50%10 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 7Lower-income26%Higher-income33%7 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income33%Higher-income40%7 pp gap