Best Public Schools in Ely, MN

Ely, Minnesota has three public schools serving grades PK–12: Washington Elementary (PK–5, enrollment 201), Memorial Middle School (6–8, enrollment 146), and Memorial High School (9–12, enrollment 181) — 528 students in total. All three belong to the Ely Public School District, which ranks 113th of 458 districts in Minnesota (75th percentile, 4 stars). That strong district rating reflects an uneven picture across grade levels: the high school performs well above state averages, while the middle school trails.

Memorial High School is the standout, ranking 67th of 473 high schools (86th percentile, 4 stars) and improving steadily (74th → 79th → 86th percentile). Its graduation rate is 97.9% versus the state's 84.9%, its dropout rate is 0.0% versus 4.2%, and its all-grade reading (73.5% vs. 48.6%) and science (52.9% vs. 25.5%) are far above state. Math, however, is a serious weakness at 12.5% proficiency, well below the district's 42.8% and the state's 44.9% — the largest negative gap in the data. Washington Elementary beats the state in all three subjects (math 53.3%, reading 51.0%, science 34.3%), though its rank percentile slipped from 78 to 64.

Memorial Middle School is improving in science (7.55% to 14.9%) and math (33.81% to 38.3%), but remains below district and state in all three subjects, with reading essentially flat at 42.9% and science 10.6 points below the state. It also has the highest student–teacher ratio (18.1, versus 13.5 at the elementary and 14.7 at the high school) and the lowest rank percentile (56, 3 stars). Overall, Ely offers strong high school outcomes and solid elementary results, but middle school performance and high school math are the clearest areas to watch.