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Teachers: what resource would make the biggest difference at CASS LAKE-BENA ELEMENTARY this year?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
450
Elementary
DISTRICT 280 · STATE 344
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CASS LAKE-BENA PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 270807000330
CASS LAKE-BENA ELEMENTARY
15 4TH ST NW, CASS LAKE, MN 56633 · (218) 335-2201 · Cass County
GRADES PK–04ELEMENTARY43-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL450 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 43% of Minnesota public elementary schools
- C-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Minnesota public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
10.1:1
45 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 11.1:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
85%
384 students
DISTRICT 80% · STATE 48%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 50 | 11% |
| Kindergarten | 74 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 75 | 17% |
| Grade 2 | 87 | 19% |
| Grade 3 | 86 | 19% |
| Grade 4 | 78 | 17% |
This year's kindergarten class (74) is 5% smaller than its 4th grade class (78).
Student demographics
11%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 11% · STATE 60% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Based on grade levels within CASS LAKE-BENA PUBLIC SCHOOLS. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
MCA 2024-25 . % Meets or Exceeds StandardsEnglish Language Arts
25.8%
MN avg 49.7%
Math
35.6%
MN avg 45.3%
What this means: On the MCA, Minnesota's statewide test, about 26 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 36 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Minnesota schools, those numbers are about 50 and 45.
Source: MCA. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
29.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
19.2%
based on MN schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+9.9pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 29% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 19% typical for Minnesota schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Minnesota's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like CASS LAKE-BENA ELEMENTARY
CASS LAKE-BENA ELEMENTARY's state test result (29.1% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| CASS LAKE-BENA ELEMENTARY this school | 450 | 85.3% | 29.1% |
| RED LAKE ELEMENTARY RED LAKE | 526 | 81.4% | 6.8% |
| MAHNOMEN ELEMENTARY MAHNOMEN | 319 | 82.8% | 17.7% |
| J.W. Smith Elementary BEMIDJI | 238 | 82.4% | 17.3% |
| MYERS-WILKINS ELEMENTARY DULUTH | 329 | 84.8% | 22.7% |
| Anishinabe Academy Elementary MINNEAPOLIS | 183 | 91.3% | 7.6% |
Matched among Minnesota elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where CASS LAKE-BENA ELEMENTARY ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Minnesota |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 29.1% | #680 of 844 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 35.6% | #630 of 844 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 25.8% | #744 of 844 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 450 | #384 of 1,130 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 10.1:1 | #43 of 769 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 10.7% | #760 of 796 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 85.3% | #65 of 942 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -15.7% | #208 of 499 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
450
+21 (+5%) vs 2020
-14% since 1990-91, when it was 525
Student : Teacher
10.1:1
was 9.5:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 450 | 44.5 | 10.1:1 | 85% (384) |
| 2023-24 | 458 | 45.5 | 10.1:1 | 86% (395) |
| 2022-23 | 478 | 44.7 | 10.7:1 | 85% (408) |
| 2020-21 | 429 | 45 | 9.5:1 | 71% (306) |
| 2017-18 | 534 | 44 | 12.1:1 | 83% (442) |
| 2015-16 | 561 | 44 | 12.8:1 | 81% (455) |
| 2010-11 | 522 | 44 | 11.9:1 | 80% (415) |
| 2000-01 | 675 | 48 | 14.1:1 | 73% (493) |
| 1990-91 | 525 | 37 | 14.2:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for CASS LAKE-BENA ELEMENTARY.
Since 2017-18: students down 16% (534 to 450); teachers up 1% (44 to 44.5).
About CASS LAKE-BENA ELEMENTARY
CASS LAKE-BENA ELEMENTARY is a medium-sized elementary school in CASS LAKE, Minnesota, one of the schools in CASS LAKE-BENA PUBLIC SCHOOLS. Its 450 students are spread across pre-K through 4. The school's enrollment is 31% above the 344 average for elementary schools in Minnesota.
CASS LAKE-BENA PUBLIC SCHOOLS runs 4 schools with a combined 1,119 students. CASS LAKE-BENA ELEMENTARY is one of them.
The large majority of students at CASS LAKE-BENA ELEMENTARY, 94%, are Native American. The rest of enrollment is 2% White. By the diversity index, CASS LAKE-BENA ELEMENTARY comes in at 11%.
CASS LAKE-BENA ELEMENTARY employs 44.5 full-time-equivalent teachers. That gives a ratio of about 10.1:1. The average ratio among elementary schools in Minnesota is 13.7:1, higher than at this school. CASS LAKE-BENA ELEMENTARY's free or reduced-price lunch eligibility rate is 85%. That rate is above the 61% average among public schools in Cass County.
The allk12 Grade for CASS LAKE-BENA ELEMENTARY is C+. Compared with Minnesota public elementary schools, the school scored higher than 43% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
On a poverty-adjusted basis, CASS LAKE-BENA ELEMENTARY falls in the middle 80% of Minnesota schools: 29.1% actual against 19.2% predicted.
CASS LAKE-BENA ELEMENTARY is located in Cass County, where median household income is about $68,874, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 26%, and about 9% of people live in poverty. CASS LAKE-BENA ELEMENTARY is one of 21 public schools in Cass County, which together enroll about 4,570 students.
Nearest public school: CASS LAKE-BENA AREA LRNG. CNTR., about 0.1 miles away. The five-mile area around CASS LAKE-BENA ELEMENTARY holds 3 other public schools. Local comparison: CASS LAKE-BENA ELEMENTARY ranks 4th of 8 nearby schools, at 29.1% versus a 32.3% average.
Under the NCES locale system, CASS LAKE-BENA ELEMENTARY is Rural: Remote.
Federal counts put enrollment at 429 in 2020-21 and 450 in 2024-25, a 5% gain.
Threads on this page can be about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Cass County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
30,992
Census ACS
Median income
$68,874
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
26%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
21
4,570 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in CASS LAKE-BENA PUBLIC SCHOOLS
- Cass Lake-Bena Middle SchoolMiddle · 312 students
- CASS LAKE-BENA SECONDARYHigh · 263 students
- CASS LAKE-BENA AREA LRNG. CNTR.High · 94 students
Other schools in CASS LAKE
- Cass Lake-Bena Middle SchoolMiddle · 312 students
- CASS LAKE-BENA SECONDARYHigh · 263 students
- CASS LAKE-BENA AREA LRNG. CNTR.High · 94 students
Nearby schools
- CASS LAKE-BENA AREA LRNG. CNTR.0.1 mi · 94
- Cass Lake-Bena Middle School1.8 mi · 312
- CASS LAKE-BENA SECONDARY1.8 mi · 263
- Horace May Elementary12.5 mi · 300
- Lincoln Elementary12.7 mi · 320
- Laporte Elementary13.8 mi · 146
Frequently asked questions
About CASS LAKE-BENA ELEMENTARYHow many students attend CASS LAKE-BENA ELEMENTARY?
CASS LAKE-BENA ELEMENTARY enrolls approximately 450 students in grades PK-04.
What age range does CASS LAKE-BENA ELEMENTARY serve?
CASS LAKE-BENA ELEMENTARY serves students from grade PK through grade 04.
How many students per teacher at CASS LAKE-BENA ELEMENTARY?
Approximately 10.1:1 students per teacher at CASS LAKE-BENA ELEMENTARY.
How diverse is CASS LAKE-BENA ELEMENTARY?
CASS LAKE-BENA ELEMENTARY reports a student body of 2% White, 2% Hispanic, 2% Two or more.
Who oversees CASS LAKE-BENA ELEMENTARY?
CASS LAKE-BENA ELEMENTARY is overseen by CASS LAKE-BENA PUBLIC SCHOOLS in Cass County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.