Best Elementary Schools in Foley, MN

Elementary schools in Foley, Minnesota come down to a single school: Foley Elementary, a PK–3 building with 552 students on Penn St that serves the city and the Foley Public School District. Because Minnesota's MCA tests start in 3rd grade, the students tested here are essentially the 3rd-grade class, so every proficiency figure reflects that one grade level.

Performance is strong, and math is the standout. In 2025–26, 84.3% of students were proficient in math — roughly 1.9 times the state rate of 44.9%, a gap of 39.4 points — while reading reached 61.7%, 13.1 points above the state's 48.6%. The prior year, math was 79.69% and reading 68.5%, so math climbed 4.61 points while reading slipped 6.8 points, widening the internal math-over-reading gap from 11.19 points to 22.6 points. Comparing this school to its district takes care: the district's all-grades math average is 54.4%, but the district's 3rd-grade results match Foley Elementary exactly, since this school is the district's only source of 3rd-grade data. Grades 4–12 pull the district average down.

Two more points matter for parents. First, year-over-year changes compare different children — last year's 3rd graders against this year's — so they are two cohort snapshots, not proof that instruction improved or declined. Reading's 6.8-point drop was slightly steeper than the district's own 5.77-point decline, while math moved opposite to the district (up 4.61 versus down 2.17). Second, about 29.89% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, a moderate level, and the 11.4-to-1 student-teacher ratio is a genuine structural advantage. Only one year of poverty and staffing data exists, there is no subgroup breakdown, and the district's 4-star rating belongs to the district rather than this school.