St. Cloud Sun

Sauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools had the highest enrollment among Benton County districts, welcoming 4,352 students during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Minnesota Department of Education.

Of all the students enrolled that year, 51.5% of them were male, and 48.5% were female.

Data also showed that most of the students were white, representing 81.9% of Sauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools's total enrollment.

Among the two districts in Benton County, Foley Public School District ranked second in enrollment numbers with 1,925 students in the 2023-24 school year.

Sauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools generally encompasses schools within Benton County with its main office in Sauk Rapids.

In the previous school year, Sauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools also had the highest number of students among Benton County districts.

According to the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), Minnesota's fourth graders scored 241 in math, just above the national average of 237. Their reading score of 216 was on par with the U.S. average, but shows a slight decline over recent years. Eighth graders scored 284 in math and 264 in reading, both above the national averages. 

However, despite these results, both grade levels remain below pre-pandemic levels in math and reading.

As of 2024, according to Public School Review, the student-to-teacher ratio in Minnesota's public schools stands at 1:16, slightly worse than the national average of 1:15. This is part of a larger framework within Minnesota's educational system, which is the 10th largest in the United States, accommodating over 869,000 students across 2,709 public schools.

District	City (main office)	Total Enrollment
Sauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools	Sauk Rapids	4,352
Foley Public School District	Foley	1,925