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MATH vs READING · MINNESOTA

Minnesota: where math and reading scores diverge

Minnesota public schools with the widest gap between math and reading proficiency. Same students, same test, only the subject changes.

Schools in this report
40
widest divergence in state
Most reading-ahead
-63 pp
PIM Arts High School
Most math-ahead
+28 pp
LUVERNE SENIOR HIGH
MN PUBLIC SCHOOLS · WIDEST MATH-READING DIVERGENCE
SchoolCityLevelMath %Reading %Math − Reading (pp)
PIM Arts High SchoolEDEN PRAIRIEHigh14.8%77.3%-62.6
Cook County Senior HighGRAND MARAISHigh18.0%75.0%-57.1
WEST CENTRAL AREA SECONDARYBARRETTHigh25.0%78.0%-53
ST PAUL CONSERVATORY PERFORMING ARTSAINT PAULHigh31.0%80.4%-49.4
Southland Senior HighADAMSHigh26.7%73.6%-46.9
DOVER-EYOTA HIGH SCHOOLEYOTAHigh17.8%59.7%-41.9
HOWARD LAKE-WAVERLY-WINSTED SEC.HOWARD LAKEHigh16.1%56.1%-40
REDWOOD VALLEY SENIOR HIGHREDWOOD FALLSHigh14.1%53.9%-39.8
La Crescent Senior HighLA CRESCENTHigh15.4%54.8%-39.4
FAIR HighMINNEAPOLISHigh17.4%56.1%-38.8
GREAT RIVER SCHOOLSAINT PAULHigh36.5%72.5%-36
MARSHALL COUNTY CENTRAL HIGHNEWFOLDENHigh20.4%55.1%-34.7
NORTHWEST PASSAGE HIGH SCHOOLCOON RAPIDSHigh13.8%48.0%-34.2
ROBBINSDALE ARMSTRONG SENIOR HIGHPLYMOUTHHigh24.4%57.7%-33.4
AVALON SCHOOLSAINT PAULHigh38.2%71.4%-33.2
SIBLEY EAST-ARLINGTON SENIOR HIGHARLINGTONHigh15.6%48.2%-32.6
STEP Academy Charter SchoolSAINT PAULHigh10.5%42.6%-32.1
Edison HighMINNEAPOLISHigh12.6%44.3%-31.6
KENYON-WANAMINGO SENIOR HIGHKENYONHigh19.6%51.0%-31.4
ANNANDALE SENIOR HIGHANNANDALEHigh44.0%74.8%-30.9
SPRING GROVE SECONDARYSPRING GROVEHigh23.8%54.7%-30.9
MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOLELYHigh34.5%64.4%-30
Great River Elementary SchoolSAINT PAULElementary35.4%65.3%-29.9
Central Senior HighSAINT PAULHigh29.4%59.0%-29.6
Jordan High SchoolJORDANHigh37.4%66.5%-29
ROCKFORD SECONDARYROCKFORDHigh30.8%59.1%-28.3
CALEDONIA SENIOR HIGHCALEDONIAHigh38.6%66.7%-28.1
Dawson-Boyd SecondaryDAWSONHigh15.0%43.2%-28.1
GFW High SchoolWINTHROPHigh15.4%43.1%-27.8
FOLEY SENIOR HIGHFOLEYHigh30.4%57.9%-27.4
Spectrum Middle School - Grades 7-8ELK RIVERMiddle31.3%58.7%-27.4
Aim Academy of Science & TechnologyMINNEAPOLISHigh11.1%38.4%-27.3
Tartan Senior HighOAKDALEHigh14.4%41.6%-27.2
ROBBINSDALE COOPER SENIOR HIGHNEW HOPEHigh10.5%37.5%-27
WATERVILLE-ELYSIAN-MORRISTOWN SR.WATERVILLEHigh29.7%56.3%-26.6
CLEARBROOK-GONVICK SECONDARYCLEARBROOKHigh13.5%39.6%-26.1
RICHFIELD SENIOR HIGHRICHFIELDHigh14.9%41.1%-26.1
Horace May ElementaryBEMIDJIElementary63.6%37.7%26
BOLD-Bird Island ElementaryOLIVIAElementary70.9%44.2%26.7
LUVERNE SENIOR HIGHLUVERNEHigh72.0%43.7%28.4
40 of 40 rows · Brick-and-mortar only; virtual schools and specialized-population schools excluded. Most recent year with both a math and a reading all-students result; schools must have 150+ students and at least 5% proficient in each subject (a floor that drops suppression/coding artifacts). A negative gap means students are more often proficient in reading than math.↓ Download math-reading-gap-by-state-mn.csv

How to read this list

Each school is scored on its most recent year carrying both a math and a reading (English Language Arts) all-students proficiency figure on Minnesota's native assessment. The final column is the difference: math proficiency minus reading proficiency, in percentage points. A negative number means a school's students are more often proficient in reading than in math; a positive number means the reverse. Because both figures come from the same students taking the same test under the same cut-score policy, the gap is an apples-to-apples comparison in a way that raw cross-state proficiency rates are not.

A wide gap is not automatically a problem. Arts, language-immersion, and humanities-focused programs often post strong reading and weaker math; STEM and career-technical programs often do the reverse. But a persistent, schoolwide divergence is worth a parent's attention, because it can also flag a staffing gap, a curriculum weakness, or a math-anxiety culture that a single year of scores would hide.

What is excluded

Brick-and-mortar schools only: virtual academies and cyber charters are removed because their results are noisy and rarely reflect a school families choose geographically. Specialized-population schools (state schools for the deaf or blind, therapeutic and juvenile-justice placements, and NCES special-education or alternative-education campuses) are also excluded, because state proficiency rates are not a comparable metric for them. Schools must have at least 150 students and at least 5% proficient in each subject, a floor that drops suppression and coding artifacts.

Source data

Minnesota state assessment results loaded into allk12, joined to the NCES Common Core of Data school directory. Refreshed when the state publishes a new assessment file. See the national report for the state-by-state summary.

HOW TO CITE THIS REPORT

Anyone is welcome to cite or republish these findings. Please credit allk12.com and link back to this page so readers can verify the underlying data.

allk12 (2026). "Minnesota: the math vs reading proficiency gap by school." Retrieved from https://allk12.com/reports/math-reading-gap/minnesota
For interview requests or custom data pulls: [email protected]
DOWNLOAD THE DATA
math-reading-gap-by-state-mn.csv
RELATED
Math vs reading gap by state · Minnesota test scores · Best Minnesota schools · All Minnesota schools
DATA NOTICE

allk12 is independent and not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by NCES, the US Census Bureau, any state education agency or assessment program, or any other government agency. Source data is compiled from public records and provided "as is," without warranty of accuracy or completeness. You rely on it, and any analysis derived from it, at your own risk. See the full disclaimer.