Summary:
Slayton, Minnesota is served by three public schools, all within the Murray County Central Schools district, that together cover prekindergarten through 12th grade and enroll 721 students: Murray County Central Elementary serves PK–1, West Elementary serves grades 2–6, and Murray County Central High School serves grades 7–12 with no standalone middle school. The district is highly rated, ranking 31st of 458 districts in Minnesota (93rd percentile, 5 stars).
West Elementary is the academic standout. In 2025–2026 it ranked 64th of 869 schools (93rd percentile, 5 stars), up from 183rd two years earlier, and its All Grades proficiency — 74.3% in math, 66.0% in reading, and 39.3% in science — is above both the district and the state. Its math score is about 29 percentage points above the state. It also reports 9.3 students per teacher. By comparison, Murray County Central High School ranked 105th of 473 schools (78th percentile, 4 stars) and posts strong completion outcomes: a 95.9% graduation rate versus the state's 84.9%, and a 4.0% dropout rate versus 4.2%. Its reading (53.9%) and science (33.3%) are above state levels, but its math proficiency of 39.6% trails the state's 44.9%.
Murray County Central Elementary has no test scores or rank history because it serves PK–1, and its student/teacher ratio is not reported; those gaps should not be read as poor performance. One notable contrast: West Elementary has a higher free/reduced lunch rate (42.19%) than the high school (27.44%) yet much stronger proficiency, along with a much smaller student/teacher ratio (9.3 versus 18). Overall, this is a small, high-performing district anchored by an exceptional elementary school, with a high school that excels at completion but trails in math.
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