North Branch Area Middle School

Summary:

North Branch Area Middle School is a public middle school serving 609 students in grades 6-8 in the predominantly White community of North Branch, Minnesota. While the school has consistently ranked in the middle range of Minnesota middle schools, it faces several challenges, including declining academic performance, subgroup disparities, increasing economic disadvantage, and a rising student-teacher ratio.

North Branch Area Middle School's performance on state assessments (MCA-III) is below the state and district averages in both math and reading proficiency across all grades. The school's ranking has dropped from 221 out of 521 Minnesota middle schools in 2020-2021 to 350 out of 545 in 2023-2024. Additionally, the school's performance varies significantly across different student subgroups, with White and multi-racial students performing relatively better than Asian, Hispanic, and special education students. The growing percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, from 16.59% in 2020-2021 to 36.62% in 2022-2023, indicates an increasing population of economically disadvantaged students, which may contribute to the school's overall academic challenges.

When compared to nearby middle schools, such as Forest Lake Area Middle School, Chisago Lakes Middle, and Cambridge Middle School, North Branch Area Middle School generally performs below the academic standards set by its peers. These nearby schools have lower percentages of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch and lower student-teacher ratios, which may contribute to their stronger academic performance.


Detail:

Public 6-8

 38431 Lincoln Tr
       North Branch, MN  55056-0370


(651) 674-1300

District: North Branch Area Public Schools

SchoolDigger Rank:
350th of 545 Minnesota Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $11,068 Help


Students who attend North Branch Area Middle School usually attend:

High:    North Branch Area High School

Feeder schools for North Branch Area Middle School:

Elementary:    Sunrise River Elementary School

Student/teacher ratio:  21.2 Help
Number of students:  609

Racial breakdown:

White:
82.4%
Asian:
5.3%
Hispanic:
5.3%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  36.6% Help


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 Compare North Branch Area Middle School to nearby middle schools!

Performance Trends
Help
Compare Details North Branch Area Middle School ranks worse than 64.2% of middle schools in Minnesota. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 37.63. (See more...)
Student Body
Help
Compare Details Racial makeup is: White (82.4%), Asian (5.3%), Hispanic (5.3%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 36.6% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at North Branch Area Middle School is 21.2. (See more...)
Help
Compare North Branch Area Middle School employs 28.6 full-time teachers.
Finance
Help
Compare Details The average total spent per student at North Branch Area Middle School is $11,068.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

North Branch Area Middle School:

SchoolDigger ranks North Branch Area Middle School 350th of 545 Minnesota public middle schools. (See North Branch Area Middle School in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Multi-racial students:
Special Education students:
Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Male students:
Asian students:
Hispanic students:
White students:




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Rank History for North Branch Area Middle School

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Rank History for all students at North Branch Area Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MN State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2004 71.54 116th 387 70.0%
2005 65.34 157th 396 60.4%
2006 50.77 244th 406 39.9%
2007 73.70 77th 403 80.9%
2008 73.49 85th 409 79.2%
2009 68.46 65th 230 71.7%
2010 62.68 175th 454 61.5%
2011 55.53 225th 478 52.9%
2012 62.23 191st 469 59.3%
2013 63.26 167th 488 65.8%
2014 65.31 159th 490 67.6%
2015 57.19 223rd 516 56.8%
2016 54.28 239th 508 53.0%
2017 59.70 220th 523 57.9%
2018 58.47 226th 518 56.4%
2019 52.27 265th 533 50.3%
2021 55.92 221st 521 57.6%
2022 52.94 238th 520 54.2%
2023 39.48 326th 529 38.4%
2024 37.63 350th 545 35.8%
See the entire list of Minnesota Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at North Branch Area Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MN State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2022 52.90 60th 131 54.2%
2024 21.96 100th 116 13.8%
See the entire list of Best Minnesota Middle Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at North Branch Area Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MN State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 20.08 224th 253 11.5%
2019 30.15 214th 282 24.1%
2021 28.47 210th 260 19.2%
2022 25.72 226th 288 21.5%
2023 25.89 239th 298 19.8%
2024 17.90 282nd 307 8.1%
See the entire list of Best Minnesota Middle Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at North Branch Area Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MN State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 54.71 186th 401 53.6%
2019 41.41 262nd 415 36.9%
2021 52.78 164th 399 58.9%
2022 46.54 215th 404 46.8%
2023 36.89 297th 459 35.3%
2024 37.51 313th 473 33.8%
See the entire list of Best Minnesota Middle Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at North Branch Area Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MN State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 56.07 210th 436 51.8%
2019 44.72 266th 439 39.4%
2021 54.03 187th 443 57.8%
2022 53.12 204th 467 56.3%
2023 37.46 308th 455 32.3%
2024 31.57 341st 474 28.1%
See the entire list of Best Minnesota Middle Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at North Branch Area Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MN State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 54.06 213th 438 51.4%
2019 53.10 224th 454 50.7%
2021 50.95 215th 437 50.8%
2022 46.93 254th 476 46.6%
2023 36.82 302nd 464 34.9%
2024 37.82 304th 479 36.5%
See the entire list of Best Minnesota Middle Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Asian students at North Branch Area Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MN State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2022 26.17 77th 110 30.0%
2023 16.45 96th 116 17.2%
2024 18.13 94th 111 15.3%
See the entire list of Best Minnesota Middle Schools for Asian Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at North Branch Area Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MN State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2024 42.41 96th 186 48.4%
See the entire list of Best Minnesota Middle Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at North Branch Area Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MN State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 41.72 275th 428 35.7%
2019 34.08 312th 428 27.1%
2021 39.00 255th 422 39.6%
2022 38.79 272nd 438 37.9%
2023 26.46 358th 436 17.9%
2024 22.46 373rd 440 15.2%
See the entire list of Best Minnesota Middle Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Minnesota Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

North Branch Area Middle School Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 






Data source: Minnesota Department of Education

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Enrollment information for North Branch Area Middle School

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Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1988 536 2 3 1 2 n/a n/a 0 544
1989 563 1 3 2 0 n/a n/a 0 569
1990 577 1 1 1 3 n/a n/a 0 583
1991 594 1 3 3 1 n/a n/a 0 602
1992 620 3 3 3 3 n/a n/a 0 632
1993 646 2 3 5 0 n/a n/a 0 656
1994 683 2 3 4 0 n/a n/a 0 692
1995 738 2 10 2 2 n/a n/a 0 754
1996 738 2 10 2 2 n/a n/a 0 754
1997 1045 2 13 4 5 n/a n/a 0 1069
1998 1030 0 15 6 5 n/a n/a 0 1056
1999 1038 3 16 9 4 n/a n/a 0 1070
2000 1059 1 21 7 3 n/a n/a 0 1091
2001 1090 7 20 14 2 n/a n/a 0 1133
2002 1053 12 21 18 9 n/a n/a 0 1113
2003 1053 12 21 18 9 n/a n/a 0 1113
2004 1086 8 25 25 9 n/a n/a 0 1153
2005 1108 9 27 15 6 n/a n/a 0 1165
2006 878 10 19 13 7 n/a n/a 0 927
2007 858 10 22 13 9 n/a n/a 0 912
2008 808 13 25 15 5 n/a n/a 0 866
2009 829 3 22 23 4 n/a n/a 0 881
2010 782 7 12 15 5 n/a n/a 0 821
2011 1021 11 8 22 6 0 0 0 1068
2012 958 9 8 16 6 0 2 0 999
2013 952 10 7 18 3 0 5 0 995
2014 930 9 5 25 6 0 11 0 986
2015 920 12 12 21 9 0 10 0 984
2016 836 9 13 18 8 0 9 0 893
2017 812 7 17 25 10 0 10 0 881
2018 822 6 23 32 9 0 16 0 908
2019 703 5 22 38 4 0 24 0 796
2020 722 6 28 41 3 0 33 0 833
2021 403 2 10 20 1 0 16 0 452
2022 482 4 28 32 1 0 28 0 575
2023 502 8 32 32 3 0 32 0 609

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at North Branch Area Middle School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 544 32.6 16.6 10.1
1989 569 39.7 14.3 13
1990 583 39.3 14.8 13.7
1991 602 34.7 17.3 15.3
1992 632 31.5 20.0 2.5
1993 656 33.5 19.6 19.5
1994 692 35.8 19.3 16.5
1995 754 37.5 20.1 16
1996 754 37.5 20.1 16
1997 1069 52.6 20.3 16
1998 1056 n/a 0.0 15.1
1999 1070 58.9 18.2 13.5
2000 1091 53.8 20.3 21.2
2001 1133 55.5 20.4 20
2002 1113 57.8 19.3 20.7
2003 1113 57.8 19.3 20.7
2004 1153 54.6 21.1 20
2005 1165 50.9 22.9 21.7
2006 927 46.6 19.9 22.8
2007 912 52.1 17.5 25.1
2008 866 42.3 20.5 23.6
2009 881 42.6 20.7 24.7
2010 821 37.7 21.7 29.1
2011 1068 48.6 21.9 28.8
2012 999 50.7 19.6 29.3
2013 995 48.2 20.6 28.8
2014 986 47.8 20.6 31.2
2015 984 47.0 20.9 32.9
2016 893 50.0 17.8 30.7
2017 881 48.8 18.0 30
2018 908 44.4 20.4 30.4
2019 796 43.3 18.3 29.9
2020 833 36.9 22.5 28.8
2021 452 29.2 15.4 16.6
2022 575 28.6 20.1 16.3
2023 609 28.6 21.2 36.6

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio North Branch Area Middle School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 544 32.6 16.6 10.1
1989 569 39.7 14.3 13
1990 583 39.3 14.8 13.7
1991 602 34.7 17.3 15.3
1992 632 31.5 20.0 2.5
1993 656 33.5 19.6 19.5
1994 692 35.8 19.3 16.5
1995 754 37.5 20.1 16
1996 754 37.5 20.1 16
1997 1069 52.6 20.3 16
1998 1056 n/a 0.0 15.1
1999 1070 58.9 18.2 13.5
2000 1091 53.8 20.3 21.2
2001 1133 55.5 20.4 20
2002 1113 57.8 19.3 20.7
2003 1113 57.8 19.3 20.7
2004 1153 54.6 21.1 20
2005 1165 50.9 22.9 21.7
2006 927 46.6 19.9 22.8
2007 912 52.1 17.5 25.1
2008 866 42.3 20.5 23.6
2009 881 42.6 20.7 24.7
2010 821 37.7 21.7 29.1
2011 1068 48.6 21.9 28.8
2012 999 50.7 19.6 29.3
2013 995 48.2 20.6 28.8
2014 986 47.8 20.6 31.2
2015 984 47.0 20.9 32.9
2016 893 50.0 17.8 30.7
2017 881 48.8 18.0 30
2018 908 44.4 20.4 30.4
2019 796 43.3 18.3 29.9
2020 833 36.9 22.5 28.8
2021 452 29.2 15.4 16.6
2022 575 28.6 20.1 16.3
2023 609 28.6 21.2 36.6

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.
Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for North Branch Area Middle School

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YearTotal Expenditures Per Pupil
2019 $11,068

Data source: Minnesota Department of Education
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on North Branch Area Middle School

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Rank
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Ranks 265th of 533 Middle schoolsRanks 326th of 529 Middle schools
 11.9%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
6th Grade Math (North Branch Area Middle School)43.923.7
 20.1%
   6th Grade Math (North Branch Area Public Schools)43.923.4
 20.5%
   6th Grade Math (Minnesota)50.539.7
 10.8%
6th Grade Reading (North Branch Area Middle School)61.446.3
 15.2%
   6th Grade Reading (North Branch Area Public Schools)61.446.1
 15.3%
   6th Grade Reading (Minnesota)62.853.4
 9.4%
7th Grade Math (North Branch Area Middle School)45.734.8
 10.9%
   7th Grade Math (North Branch Area Public Schools)45.734.1
 11.6%
   7th Grade Math (Minnesota)52.139.7
 12.4%
7th Grade Reading (North Branch Area Middle School)49.633
 16.6%
   7th Grade Reading (North Branch Area Public Schools)49.632.2
 17.4%
   7th Grade Reading (Minnesota)57.545.2
 12.3%
8th Grade Math (North Branch Area Middle School)59.125.1
 34%
   8th Grade Math (North Branch Area Public Schools)58.824.2
 34.6%
   8th Grade Math (Minnesota)55.240.3
 14.9%
8th Grade Reading (North Branch Area Middle School)50.337.7
 12.6%
   8th Grade Reading (North Branch Area Public Schools)50.537.7
 12.8%
   8th Grade Reading (Minnesota)57.744.8
 12.9%
8th Grade Science (North Branch Area Middle School)39.920.4
 19.5%
   8th Grade Science (North Branch Area Public Schools)39.719.6
 20.1%
   8th Grade Science (Minnesota)4327.6
 15.4%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students796609
 23.5%
African American58
 60%
American Indian43
 25%
Asian2232
 45.5%
Hispanic3832
 15.8%
Pacific Islander00
White703502
 28.6%
Two or More Races2432
 33.3%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients29.9%36.6%
 6.7%


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Frequently Asked Questions about North Branch Area Middle School

Students who attend North Branch Area Middle School usually go on to attend North Branch Area High School

Students at North Branch Area Middle School are 82% White, 5% Asian, 5% Hispanic, 5% Two or more races, 1% African American.

In the 2022-23 school year, 609 students attended North Branch Area Middle School.

North Branch Area Middle School ranks 350th of 545 Minnesota middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Minnesota Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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