Summary:
The city of Brainerd, Minnesota is home to 5 elementary schools serving students from grades K-5. These schools, which include Riverside Elementary, Lowell Elementary, Garfield Elementary, Harrison Elementary, and Discovery Woods, vary significantly in their academic performance and student demographics.
Lowell Elementary stands out as the top-performing school in the group, consistently ranking among the best elementary schools in Minnesota and earning a 5-star rating from SchoolDigger. In contrast, Discovery Woods, a public charter school, is the lowest-performing, ranking in the bottom 25% of Minnesota elementary schools with a 1-star rating. The other schools, Riverside Elementary, Garfield Elementary, and Harrison Elementary, fall somewhere in the middle, with test scores and performance metrics that are generally on par with or slightly above the state averages.
The data also reveals significant socioeconomic disparities among the schools, as evidenced by the wide range in free/reduced lunch rates. Schools with higher poverty levels, such as Riverside Elementary and Harrison Elementary, tend to have lower test scores, suggesting a correlation between socioeconomic status and academic achievement. Additionally, while Lowell Elementary has the least diverse student population, it is the top-performing school, while Discovery Woods, the most racially diverse school, is the lowest-performing, highlighting the complex relationship between race, socioeconomic factors, and educational outcomes.
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