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How has Nova Classical Academy Lower School changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
485
Elementary
DISTRICT 521 · STATE 344
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·NOVA CLASSICAL ACADEMY·NCES 270033704175
Nova Classical Academy Lower School
1455 VICTORIA WAY, SAINT PAUL, MN 55102 · (651) 209-6320 · Ramsey County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY11-CITYCHARTERREGULAR SCHOOL485 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 94% of Minnesota public elementary schools
- ATest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- ABeats 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
13.9:1
35 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.5:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
24%
114 students
DISTRICT 22% · 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 80 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 81 | 17% |
| Grade 2 | 81 | 17% |
| Grade 3 | 81 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 81 | 17% |
| Grade 5 | 81 | 17% |
This year's kindergarten class (80) is about the same size as its 5th grade class (81).
Student demographics
64%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 65% · 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
Nova Classical Academy Lower School→Nova Classical Academy Upper School
Based on grade levels within Nova Classical Academy. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
MCA 2024-25 . % Meets or Exceeds StandardsEnglish Language Arts
68.2%
MN avg 49.7%
Math
74.8%
MN avg 45.3%
What this means: On the MCA, Minnesota's statewide test, about 68 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 75 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
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of MN schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
66.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
52.4%
based on MN schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+14.1pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 67% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 52% typical for Minnesota schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 14 points, placing it in Minnesota's top 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 Nova Classical Academy Lower School
Nova Classical Academy Lower School's state test result (66.5% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nova Classical Academy Lower School this school | 485 | 23.5% | 66.5% |
| Brookview Elementary WOODBURY | 607 | 26.2% | 49.7% |
| CHERRY VIEW ELEMENTARY LAKEVILLE | 599 | 20.2% | 61.7% |
| Glendale Elementary SAVAGE | 522 | 24.9% | 58.7% |
| PINE HILL ELEMENTARY COTTAGE GROVE | 502 | 27.3% | 35.2% |
| ROYAL OAKS ELEMENTARY WOODBURY | 451 | 28.4% | 54.1% |
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 Nova Classical Academy Lower School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Minnesota | In Ramsey County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 66.5% | #56 of 844 | #5 of 93 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 74.8% | #62 of 844 | #3 of 93 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 68.2% | #71 of 844 | #9 of 93 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 485 | #323 of 1,130 | #29 of 119 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.9:1 | #422 of 769 | #49 of 83 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 64.1% | #230 of 796 | #53 of 86 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 23.5% | #779 of 942 | #91 of 101 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +3.6% | #185 of 244 | #19 of 27 |
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
485
+1 (+0%) vs 2020
+18% since 2010-11, when it was 412
Student : Teacher
13.9:1
was 21.0:1
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 | 485 | 34.9 | 13.9:1 | 24% (114) |
| 2023-24 | 483 | 34.3 | 14.1:1 | 26% (127) |
| 2022-23 | 483 | 30.5 | 15.8:1 | 22% (108) |
| 2020-21 | 484 | 23 | 21.0:1 | 4% (18) |
| 2017-18 | 468 | 27.4 | 17.1:1 | 12% (58) |
| 2015-16 | 472 | 26 | 18.1:1 | 11% (50) |
| 2010-11 | 412 | 21 | 19.6:1 | 12% (48) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Nova Classical Academy Lower School.
Since 2017-18: students up 4% (468 to 485); teachers up 28% (27.4 to 34.9).
About Nova Classical Academy Lower School
Nova Classical Academy Lower School is a medium-sized elementary school in SAINT PAUL, Minnesota, administered by Nova Classical Academy. The school counts 485 students across kindergarten through 5. The typical figure for elementary schools in Minnesota is about 344 students.
Across its 2 schools, Nova Classical Academy enrolls 1,041 students. Nova Classical Academy Lower School is one of those schools.
At 55%, White students outnumber all other groups at Nova Classical Academy Lower School combined. The remaining students are 17% Black, 13% Asian, 8% Hispanic, and 7% multiracial. By the diversity index, Nova Classical Academy Lower School comes in at 64%.
Nova Classical Academy Lower School counts 34.9 full-time-equivalent teachers, about 13.9 students for each one. Elementary schools in Minnesota average about 13.7:1, a similar figure. About 24% of students at the school meet free or reduced-price lunch income limits. Public schools in Ramsey County average 57%.
Nova Classical Academy Lower School is graded A by allk12, scoring above 94% of Minnesota public elementary schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
Predicted from its free or reduced-price lunch share, Nova Classical Academy Lower School would score about 52.4%. It scores 66.5%, a top-10% result among Minnesota schools on BeatsExpectations.
Ramsey County has these Census figures: median household income is about $81,568, roughly 46% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 8%. The public schools of Ramsey County number 302 and enroll about 94,437.
Nova Classical Academy Upper School is the nearest neighboring public school, less than a tenth of a mile away. Counting only straight-line distance, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. Among its closest neighbors with test data, Nova Classical Academy Lower School is 2nd of 5 on proficiency.
The National Center for Education Statistics classifies the school's location as City: Large, meaning it is inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more. The school is a charter school, funded with public money and operated under a charter agreement.
There was little change in enrollment from 2020-21 (484) to 2024-25 (485). From 2020-21 to 2024-25, the ratio fell from 21.0:1 to 13.9:1.
Conversations here can range across science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Ramsey County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
542,945
Census ACS
Median income
$81,568
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
46%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
302
94,437 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Nova Classical Academy
- Nova Classical Academy Upper SchoolHigh · 556 students
Other schools in SAINT PAUL
- Minnesota Connections Academy 7-12High · 3,536 students
- Central Senior HighHigh · 1,682 students
- Harding Senior HighHigh · 1,591 students
- Highland Park Senior HighHigh · 1,392 students
- Johnson Senior HighHigh · 1,076 students
- Capitol Hill Magnet/RondoElementary · 1,066 students
Nearby schools
- Nova Classical Academy Upper School0.0 mi · 556
- Adams Magnet Elementary0.5 mi · 605
- Global Arts Plus Upper0.7 mi · 437
- EARLY ED GLOBAL0.7 mi · 5
- St. Paul School of Northern Lights0.9 mi · 212
- St. Paul Northern Lights Secondary0.9 mi · 15
Frequently asked questions
About Nova Classical Academy Lower SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Nova Classical Academy Lower School?
Nova Classical Academy Lower School enrolls approximately 485 students in grades KG-05.
What age range does Nova Classical Academy Lower School serve?
Nova Classical Academy Lower School serves students from grade KG through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Nova Classical Academy Lower School?
Approximately 13.9:1 students per teacher at Nova Classical Academy Lower School.
How diverse is Nova Classical Academy Lower School?
Nova Classical Academy Lower School reports a student body of 55% White, 8% Hispanic, 17% Black, 13% Asian, 7% Two or more.
What district is Nova Classical Academy Lower School in?
Nova Classical Academy Lower School is part of Nova Classical Academy.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.