Verndale Elementary, Verndale MN

Original Research by School Decision on Verndale Elementary

Verndale Elementary serves grades PK through 6 in the Verndale Public School District, a small rural district in Wadena County. The school sits on Brown Street inside the town itself, integrated with the civic core rather than on a separate campus. Verndale is a farming town with a long agricultural history, and its economy rests on construction, healthcare, retail, and small businesses. The population has been declining over the long term, and the town shows little recent residential development. The district draws some students through open enrollment from the surrounding area.

The student body is overwhelmingly white, with a modest share of students identifying as two or more races and very small numbers of students from other racial and ethnic backgrounds. Slightly more than half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a rate that signals a moderate level of economic need in the community. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available.

State testing results show a pattern that varies noticeably by grade. In math, proficiency among third and fourth graders is at a level that is common in the region, but it drops sharply by fifth and sixth grades, where fewer than a third of students meet the state standard. Reading results are more consistent across grades, with proficiency landing near the middle range in third grade and rising to roughly half of students or a little above in fourth, fifth, and sixth grades. Science results for fifth graders are low, with fewer than one in five students reaching proficiency; the science assessment and cut scores changed in the most recent year, so a parent may want to ask the school how that number relates to curriculum changes. Overall, the school’s combined proficiency across tested subjects and grades places it in the top quartile among districts in Wadena County, but that comparison reflects a small county with five districts, so the spread is narrow. The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report.

The school offers no programs data in the provided information, so it is not possible to describe special offerings, electives, or extracurriculars beyond the core academic program. The district brief turned up no recent parent-relevant changes such as referendums, curriculum shifts, or bond votes that were confirmed by a concrete source, so nothing of that kind is included here.

A family considering Verndale Elementary should recognize the rural setting and modest town amenities. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and draws its students from the immediate area plus open enrollees. The academic picture is uneven: early elementary math is respectable, but the drop in upper-grade math and low science results are worth a conversation with the principal about how the school supports students as they move into more advanced material. The reading scores are steadier but not exceptional. For a parent who values a small-town school where the institution is central to community life, this fits that description. For a parent looking for strong middle-grades math preparation or a wide array of program options, the available data suggests those are areas to investigate further.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 357%

School 57% · District 57%

▲ 2 pts above state median

Grade 458%

School 58% · District 58%

▲ 7 pts above state median

Grade 532%

School 32% · District 32%

▼ 4 pts below state median

Grade 613%

School 13% · District 13%

▼ 15 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 339%

School 39% · District 39%

▼ 3 pts below state median

Grade 458%

School 58% · District 58%

▲ 16 pts above state median

Grade 550%

School 50% · District 50%

▼ 4 pts below state median

Grade 653%

School 53% · District 53%

▲ 7 pts above state median

Science

Grade 519%

School 19% · District 19%

▼ 5 pts below state median

This schoolVERNDALE 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-income26%Higher-income48%22 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income46%Higher-income65%19 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income46%Higher-income52%6 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income36%Higher-income62%26 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income47%Higher-income64%17 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income46%Higher-income65%19 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income29%Higher-income33%5 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income0%Higher-income19%19 pp gap