Marvin Pirila, Northland Watch

April 30, 2018

According to www.greatschools.org, the South Ridge Secondary ranked as average with a 5/10 rating in 2016.

For 2016, Great Schools reports that South Ridge’s secondary had a reading proficiency of 54 % compared to the state average of 58%.  In math, they scored a 31% compared to the state average of 54%. Finally, in science they averaged 43% compared to 47%.  Their assessment, “A worrisome sign:  Test scores at this school fall below the state average. This suggests that most students at this school may not be performing at grade level.”  Compared to state averages, South Ridge scored 23% lower in math, 6% in reading proficiency, and 30% worse in science.

However, in 2017 the Minnesota Department of Education (MDOE) reported improvement in all three areas.  Reading and science proficiency rose modestly to 60% and 46%, respectively, while math rose 15% to 46%.

Great Schools reported that for 2016, South Ridge had an average ACT score of 20, whereas the state was 21.  The assessment by Great Schools, “A worrisome sign: This school is below the state average in key measures of college and career readiness.”    Figures not available for 2017.

Great Schools ranked the South Ridge Secondary a 6/10 for student progress (2016). This rating measures how much students at this school improved from one year to the next, compared to students with similar proficiency levels at other schools in the state.  Their assessment, “Worth a deeper look:  Students at this school are making average academic progress given where they were last year, compared to similar students in the state.   Average progress with low test scores means... that students are starting at a low point but keeping up with their peers.”  Progress figures not available for 2017.

In its 2016 rating of equity review, which measures whether this school if offering opportunity for all its students, or leaving some kids behind, South Ridge gets a 5/10.
Great Schools summarized South Ridge (2016) as “This school is rated about average in school quality compared to other schools in the state. Students here perform below average on state tests, have below average college readiness measures, are making about average year-over-year academic improvement, and this school has about average results in how well it’s serving disadvantaged students.” 

As for class sizes, the MDOE reports South Ridge has a ratio of 12 students per teacher, all licensed (2017).    The number of students, according to October 1 counts, was 243.

Researchers have found that gains in achievement generally occur when class size is reduced to fewer than 20 students.