MAKING THE GRADE Mounds View uses a number of assessments to measure student performance and progress. Whether the results come from state-mandated testing, District measurement systems, or national rankings, Mounds View Public Schools continues to hold a place among the highest-performing districts in the state and in the nation.
Top in the nation for ACT Year after year, Mounds View Public Schools students exceed both the national and the state average on ACT exams. For the ninth consecutive year, Mounds View Public Schools students earned an average ACT score (23.5) that surpasses both the Minnesota average (22.7) and the national average (21.0). Thanks to a grant from the Mounds View Schools Education Foundation, Mounds View Public Schools was the first school district in the state to give every high school junior the opportunity to take the ACT on site for free during the school day beginning in 2011. In 2015, 98 percent of the junior class participated in the free on-site administration of the test.
Top 10 school district Mounds View Public Schools ranked among the top 10 districts in the state for the most 2016 National Merit Scholarship semifinalists. In total, eight Mounds View High School students and two Irondale High School students were named semifinalists. Steven Truong and Angela Vu (pictured with Irondale Principal Eric Nelson).
Emily Ruan, Hassan Lubega, Persis Ke, Brandon Duffy and Alex Jiang (in the front row). William Newhouse, Sam Rush and Daniel Min (with Mounds View Principal Jeff Ridlehoover).
Mounds View High School seniors Brandon Duffy, William Newhouse, Emily Ruan and Persis Ke achieved a score of 36 on the ACT test, the highest score that can be achieved. Only 58 students in Minnesota’s class of 2015 earned a score of 36.
Top 10 School Districts in Minnesota
National Merit Scholarship program
Wayzata
26
Edina
19
Eden Prairie 15 Eagan-RosemountApple Valley 15
Graduating Class of 2015 ACT scores Mounds View Public Schools
23.5
Minnesota average
22.7
National average
21.0
*The District’s composite score also includes students from other District schools such as the Area Learning Center and REACH Academy.
South Washington County
12
Mounds View 10 Minneapolis
10
Rochester
8
Minnetonka
8
St. Paul 7 4
School Talk
FALL 2015
District seniors are among about 16,000 semifinalists named as part of the annual academic competition. The students, who were selected based on scores on a PSAT qualifying test, will compete for more than 7,000 scholarships worth more than $32 million, to be awarded this spring. The nationwide pool of semifinalists represents less than 1 percent of U.S. high school seniors and includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state.