Best Public Schools in Cambridge, MN

The city of Cambridge, Minnesota is home to 10 schools serving students from elementary through high school, including 3 elementary schools, 1 middle school, 5 high schools, and 1 alternative school. The schools in this area show a wide range of academic performance, with some standout high-performing institutions like Cambridge Middle School and Cambridge Intermediate School, as well as struggling alternative and virtual schools.

The Cambridge-Isanti Public School District overall has graduation rates and test scores that are generally in line with or slightly below the state averages, but there are significant variations between individual schools. Schools with lower student-teacher ratios, such as Cambridge Primary School and Brookside Academy, tend to have stronger academic outcomes, highlighting the potential benefits of smaller class sizes. Additionally, there appears to be a correlation between socioeconomic status, as measured by free/reduced lunch rates, and academic performance, with higher-poverty schools generally struggling more.

The alternative and virtual schools in the district, such as Riverside Academy IS, Riverside Academy, and the Cambridge-Isanti OLL Elementary K-5 and Cambridge-Isanti OLL Secondary 6-12 programs, have significantly lower test scores and graduation rates compared to the traditional public schools, suggesting the need for more targeted support and interventions for these specialized learning environments.