Minneapolis/ Family & Kids
Published on August 13, 2019
Como Park Senior High School is among most-improved St. Paul public high schoolsPhoto: Unsplash

How strong are the public high schools in St. Paul?

With a fresh school year kicking off, we analyzed newly released data from Niche.com, which incorporates comprehensive report cards, rankings and reviews to help you choose the right school, to identify those schools that made the biggest strides last year, as well as those that top the city's best public high school rankings.

Como Park Senior High School's overall rating improved the most among its peers in St. Paul, rising from a B- to a B, according to data from Niche.

For the 2019-2020 school year, the school, located at 740 Rose Ave. West, enrolls 1,278 students. Como Park Senior High School serves a diverse population: 36% of students identify as Asian, 31% identify as black and 21% identify as white. Niche gave the school mixed grades: B- on an A-D scale for academics, C for administration and B for clubs and activities.

The overall ranking comes from Niche's proprietary algorithms. A school's ranking might change due to many factors, including the relative rankings of similar schools and whether a school gained or lost peers due to openings or closings. Other numbers come from current public data from the U.S. government.

Academically, 32% of Como Park Senior High School's students scored as proficient or above in math, and 42% did so in reading. That's compared to city averages of 27% in math and 37% in reading.

It's not the only school that's climbed Niche's rankings this year. Open World Learning Secondary School saw its overall rating improve from a B+ to an A-. The school is located at 640 Humboldt Ave. and is much smaller, currently serving 439 students, of whom 54% identify as white, 17% identify as Hispanic and 14% identify as Asian.

Niche gave Open World Learning Secondary School mixed grades: B+ on an A-D scale for academics, B for administration and C- for clubs and activities. Open World Learning Secondary School's latest math proficiency was at 50%, and reading proficiency was 67%.

While some public high schools are moving up the ranks, others are consistently top-rated overall, including:

  • Central Senior High School, with an overall rating of A.
  • Highland Park Senior High School, with an A- rating overall.


This story was created automatically using data from Niche.com, then reviewed by an editor before publication. Click here for more about how and why Hoodline is automating local news. Got thoughts about what we're doing? Go here to share your feedback.