Summary:
The city of Hector, Minnesota is home to two schools - Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Elementary and Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Secondary, both part of the Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart school district. While the elementary school is a standout performer, ranking 48th out of 881 elementary schools in Minnesota and earning a 5-star rating, the secondary school has struggled, ranking in the bottom half of high schools statewide and receiving only a 1-2 star rating.
The elementary school consistently outperforms the state average in both math and reading proficiency, with 89.66% of 3rd graders proficient in math compared to the state average of 58.79%. In contrast, the secondary school lags behind, with only 6.45% of 11th graders proficient in math, well below the state average of 34.99%. The secondary school also has a concerning dropout rate of 5.4%, despite a relatively high 4-year graduation rate of 94.5%.
Both schools serve a significant proportion of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, with the elementary school at 60.7% and the secondary school at 48.31%. The student-teacher ratios are relatively low, with 12.4 at the elementary school and 14.7 at the secondary school. These socioeconomic factors may be contributing to the performance gap between the two schools, and further investigation into the root causes could provide valuable insights to address these challenges and ensure all students in Hector, Minnesota have access to a high-quality education.
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