I was once a student at Normandale. When I graduated into Valley View (the Edina middle school continuing with the French program) I found that those who went to Normandale had better grades, where kinder, and had a better work ethic. I know that I have a huge bias, but Normandale must be very selective because from my experience, we almost never had new kids and lost many throughout the years who couldn't keep up. That most likely explains how they do so well on tests and contain the positive qualities that I listed above.