Summary:
Sleepy Eye, Minnesota has two public schools — Sleepy Eye Elementary, serving grades PK–6 with 324 students, and Sleepy Eye Sec., serving grades 7–12 with 238 students — both part of the Sleepy Eye Public School District, which enrolls 562 students combined and ranks 239 of 458 districts in Minnesota, at the 48th percentile with 2 stars.
The two schools have very different profiles. Elementary math is a strength: 51.6% of students were proficient, above the district's 43.7% and the state's 44.9%, with 6th grade at 60% in both math and reading and 5th grade math at 53.1%. Science, however, is a weak spot at 12.5%, below the district's 21.2% and the state's 25.5%. Sleepy Eye Sec. has the stronger overall ranking — 156 of 473, 67th percentile, 3 stars in 2025–2026 — plus an 86.6% graduation rate (above the state's 84.9%), End of Course science at 45.2% (above 35.0%), and 11th grade math at 38.2% (above 35.3%). Its all-grade math (32.1%) and reading (35.9%) still trail state levels.
Reading is the clearest district-wide weakness: both schools fall below the state's 48.6%, and the district average is 40.2%. Science declined at both schools from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026 — elementary by about 5.9 points and secondary by about 5.5 points. Middle grades inside Sleepy Eye Sec. are a concern, with 8th grade at 28.9% in math, 32.6% in reading, and 4.5% in science, versus state marks of 42.3%, 50%, and 16.7%. Context differs as well: the elementary has higher free/reduced lunch participation (45.99%) and a higher student–teacher ratio (12.8) than the secondary (35.29% and 10.6). The biggest opportunities are reading at both schools, elementary science, and 7th–8th grade performance.
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