Best Middle Schools in Minnesota

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Find the best Minnesota middle schools with SchoolDigger.com! Focused on test scores for accurate rankings, our user-friendly site simplifies your search. Empower your decisions by exploring top-rated schools, only on SchoolDigger.com - the ultimate guide to K-12 schools!

Year after year, SchoolDigger is always the first to publish Minnesota test scores and rankings. Other sites use stale test score data that are several years old! Be in the know with the very latest performance metrics.

The list is updated annually upon the release of the MCA-III test scores by the Minnesota Department of Education. The most recent update was on Thursday, August 29, 2024.

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School															Students/Teachers											Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)							Ranking (2024 vs 2023)
ID	Rank (of 545)	School	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Disc Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel from Federal Funds	Total from Federal Funds	Personnel from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Total from State and Local Funds	Average Standard Score (2024)	Average Standard Score (2023)	Rank (2023)	Rank Change from 2023	SchoolDigger Rating (2024)
270034404093	141	Great River School	Public, Charter	7-12	1326 Energy Park Dr	Saint Paul	55108	Ramsey County	Great River School	Yes	No	No	No	(651) 305-2780	401	31	13	23.7%	293 (73.1%)	28 (7.0%)	29 (7.2%)	23 (5.7%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	26 (6.5%)	$19,563							70.1	76.2	94	47
270046805435	142	Gentry Academy Middle	Public, Charter	5-8	1420 County Road E East	Vadnais Heights	55110	Ramsey County	Gentry Academy Charter School	Yes	No	No	No	(651) 604-8300	192	9	20.9	10.4%	174 (90.6%)	6 (3.1%)	7 (3.6%)	2 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	2 (1.0%)								69.6	60.4	190	48
272337001140	143	Nevis Secondary	Public	7-12	210 Pleasant St W	Nevis	56467	Hubbard County	Nevis Public School District	No	No	No	No	(218) 652-1204	280	18	15.4	48.2%	235 (83.9%)	4 (1.4%)	12 (4.3%)	1 (0.4%)	3 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (8.9%)	$12,910							69.3	87.3	38	105
270405002169	144	Belle Plaine Junior High	Public	7-8	220 S Market St	Belle Plaine	56011	Scott County	Belle Plaine Public School District	No	No	No	No	(952) 873-2403	249	11	23.5	23.7%	205 (82.3%)	7 (2.8%)	19 (7.6%)	3 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (6.0%)	$7,440							69.3	41.4	317	173
270033304837	145	Parnassus Preparatory School-Logic	Public, Charter	5-8	11201 96th Ave N	Maple Grove	55369	Hennepin County	Parnassus Preparatory Charter School	Yes	No	No	Yes	(763) 496-1416	469	24	19.8	46.9%	124 (26.4%)	246 (52.5%)	27 (5.8%)	46 (9.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (5.5%)	$7,232							69.1	65.2	163	18
279144602314	146	Tri-County Secondary	Public	7-12	303 Pembina Trl S	Karlstad	56732	Kittson County	Tri-County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(218) 436-2261	83	7	11.1	49.4%	77 (92.8%)	1 (1.2%)	3 (3.6%)	2 (2.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$18,619							69.1	66.5	155	9
270750000324	147	Cannon Falls Secondary	Public	6-12	820 Minnesota St E	Cannon Falls	55009	Goodhue County	Cannon Falls Public School District	No	No	No	No	(507) 263-6800	562	37	15.3	28.3%	504 (89.7%)	4 (0.7%)	27 (4.8%)	6 (1.1%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (3.6%)	$3,399							69	71.9	113	34
272820003069	148	Pequot Lakes Middle	Public	5-8	30805 Olson St	Pequot Lakes	56472	Crow Wing County	Pequot Lakes Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(218) 568-9357	580	32	17.9	36.9%	555 (95.7%)	5 (0.9%)	5 (0.9%)	3 (0.5%)	8 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.7%)	$8,907							68.7	69.1	139	9
271137000517	149	Vandenberge Middle School	Public	6-8	948 Proctor Ave	Elk River	55330	Sherburne County	Elk River Public School District	No	No	No	No	(763) 241-3450	521	24	21.9	27.4%	403 (77.4%)	26 (5.0%)	39 (7.5%)	13 (2.5%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	37 (7.1%)	$10,762							68.3	60.9	188	39
270033904177	150	Great Expectations	Public, Charter	K-8	550 E 5th St	Grand Marais	55604	Cook County	Great Expectations	Yes	No	No	Yes	(218) 387-9322	120	12	9.8	36.7%	105 (87.5%)	1 (0.8%)	3 (2.5%)	1 (0.8%)	5 (4.2%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (4.2%)	$16,258							68.3	67.1	152	2

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Other SchoolDigger ranking lists for Minnesota

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New! SchoolDigger ranking lists for MN student subgroups:

Female Students Male Students Asian Students African American Students Hispanic Students Native American Students White Students Multi-racial Students English Language Learner Students Special Education Students Low Socio Economic Status Students Homeless Students

About our rankings:

Schooldigger calculates school rankings based on MCA-III Math, MCA-III Reading, MCA-III Science test scores released by the Minnesota Department of Education.
These rankings were last updated on August 29, 2024, and are based on the most recent test scores available. We update rankings as we receive new test scores from the Minnesota Department of Education, usually on a yearly basis.
Our sources of data include the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education and the Minnesota Department of Education.
For more information about our ranking process, please see our Ranking FAQ. Details about our methodology are here.

Educational resources:

No Child Left Behind (NCLB): A Comprehensive Analysis of Its Impact on Education

Public School Districts and Their Services: A Comprehensive Guide

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