Park Rapids Area Century Elementary, Park Rapids MN

Original Research by School Decision on Park Rapids Area Century Elementary

Park Rapids Area Century Elementary is a regular public school serving pre-kindergarten through fourth grade in Park Rapids, a small county-seat city in north-central Minnesota. The school sits on a residential street away from the downtown core, part of the Park Rapids Public School District. It is a moderate-size elementary that draws from the community and surrounding lakes area.

Academically, Century Elementary’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places it in the top quartile among the school districts in Hubbard County, a strong showing relative to its neighbors. However, that overall picture masks variation by grade and subject. In reading and math, proficiency rates in third and fourth grade are solid, with a majority of students meeting state standards. In the higher grades that are tested—fifth and sixth—the rates drop noticeably, especially in math, where fewer than one in three students are proficient. Science results in fifth grade are considerably lower as well. Importantly, the state science assessment underwent a name and cut-score change in this testing cycle, so year-over-year comparability is not established. A parent moving a child into the upper elementary grades may want to ask the school about support strategies for that transition, given the pattern.

The school’s student body is predominantly white, with a noticeable presence of Hispanic, American Indian, and multiracial students. Just over half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker of the economic diversity present. Data on special education and English learner populations was not available. The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report, and attendance measures are also absent from the available data.

Park Rapids itself blends a working tourism economy with its role as Hubbard County seat. Downtown features an unusually wide Main Avenue with center parking, lined with shops and galleries, and the city sees a seasonal population surge in summer as visitors arrive for the region’s many lakes and Itasca State Park just south. Housing values in the area are somewhat below the state median, and the market has seen moderate appreciation. The town has experienced modest population growth in recent years, and highway improvements have been made, but no major new housing developments were identified in available sources. For a family, this means a relatively affordable housing market in a community with a strong outdoor-recreation identity and a slower pace outside tourist season.

The school offers a straightforward elementary experience in a small-town setting. Its early-grade proficiency is a clear strength, and its overall academic standing among county peers is solid. The drop in performance at the upper end of its tested grades is a point to explore further with school staff. Century Elementary may fit a family seeking a neighborhood school in a community that values its lakes and outdoor life, where the cost of living is moderate and the school is a known quantity within a small district.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 368%

School 68% · District 68%

▲ 13 pts above state median

Grade 461%

School 61% · District 61%

▲ 10 pts above state median

Grade 528%

School 28% · District 28%

▼ 8 pts below state median

Grade 625%

School 25% · District 25%

▼ 3 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 353%

School 53% · District 53%

▲ 11 pts above state median

Grade 445%

School 45% · District 45%

▲ 3 pts above state median

Grade 544%

School 44% · District 44%

▼ 10 pts below state median

Grade 633%

School 33% · District 33%

▼ 13 pts below state median

Science

Grade 513%

School 13% · District 13%

▼ 12 pts below state median

This schoolPARK RAPIDS 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 3Lower-income32%Higher-income73%41 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income35%Higher-income54%18 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income40%Higher-income48%8 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income25%Higher-income44%19 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income48%Higher-income87%39 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income48%Higher-income73%25 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income22%Higher-income35%13 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income20%Higher-income30%10 pp gap