Battle Creek Elementary School, Saint Paul MN

Original Research by School Decision on Battle Creek Elementary School

Battle Creek Elementary sits in Saint Paul’s East Side, a regular public school serving prekindergarten through fifth grade as part of the Saint Paul Public Schools district. The school’s enrollment is of a mid-range size for an elementary, and it draws from a residential part of the city where housing values are moderate compared to the state overall; typical rents suggest a place where a sizable share of households are renting rather than owning.

The student body is notably diverse. The largest single group is students who identify as Asian, and within that the Hmong community constitutes a meaningful presence. Black students also make up a substantial portion of the enrollment, followed by smaller shares of Hispanic, white, and multiracial students. The share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals is high, a marker that the school serves a population with significant economic need.

State testing data from the most recent school year shows that proficiency rates in math and reading are below statewide averages across every tested grade. In math, the share of students meeting the state proficiency standard fell in the mid-to-high twenties in grades three through five, with third grade scoring modestly higher than the other two. In reading, fourth grade results were similar to its math performance, while third grade was lower and fifth grade was stronger, though still below a majority reaching proficiency. Fifth grade science results were very low, with only a small fraction of students testing as proficient. These results place the school’s overall proficiency index above the midpoint among Ramsey County’s many districts, meaning that while performance is low in absolute terms, it is not the lowest in the county and sits in a middle tier relative to its immediate neighbors.

The district itself is large, serving Saint Paul’s citywide population. In recent years, Saint Paul Public Schools has added new magnet options that families living near Battle Creek can consider if they choose a school outside their neighborhood attendance area. These include an E-STEM middle school focused on environmental science and technology, and a recently converted East African Elementary Magnet. A middle school in the district was also renamed, though the name change does not affect elementary attendance patterns.

The school’s setting in Saint Paul places it in a capital city with a mix of state government employment, cultural institutions, and a park system that has been rated among the best nationally for urban recreation. The immediate area around the school is primarily residential, with a built environment that includes the river bluffs and glacial topography characteristic of this part of the city.

For families weighing this school, the profile is straightforward. Battle Creek Elementary serves a high-need, diverse student population in a stable urban neighborhood. Academic proficiency on state tests is low, and anyone considering the school would want to ask what supports the school provides for students who are not yet meeting grade-level benchmarks, particularly in science, where the results are weakest. The district does offer magnet alternatives elsewhere, but for the neighborhood attendance zone, this is the assigned elementary.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 339%

School 39% · District 38% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 424%

School 24% · District 33% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 525%

School 25% · District 26% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 320%

School 20% · District 32% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 421%

School 21% · District 30% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 540%

School 40% · District 41% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median · even with county median

Science

Grade 54%

School 4% · District 18% · ▼ 14 pts below district

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

This schoolSaint Paul 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 3Lower-income20%Higher-income17%4 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income19%Higher-income30%11 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income40%Higher-income36%4 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income39%Higher-income71%32 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income38%Higher-income42%4 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income24%Higher-income20%4 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income26%Higher-income17%9 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income25%Higher-income57%33 pp gap