Summary:
Wells, Minnesota has two public schools — United South Central Elementary serving grades PK–6 with 420 students and United South Central High School serving grades 7–12 with 343 students — both in the United South Central Schools district. There is no middle school or alternative school here, so grades 7–8 are housed in the high school building. Together they serve 763 students, and the district ranks 186 of 458 in Minnesota, at the 59th percentile with 3 stars.
United South Central Elementary is the standout school in this area. In 2025–2026 it ranked 159 of 869 elementary schools, placing it in the 82nd percentile with 4 stars, up from the 74th percentile the year before. It scores above both the district and the state in every subject: math 66.8% vs 49.1% district and 44.9% state; reading 60.8% vs 49.6% and 48.6%; science 32.8% vs 29.0% and 25.5%. Math is especially strong in grades 3–5, where proficiency is near or above 75%. Its student–teacher ratio is 12.3, lower than the high school's 14.9, even though free and reduced lunch rates are similar (45.24% vs 44.31%).
United South Central High School shows mixed but improving results. It ranked 205 of 473 high schools, at the 57th percentile with 3 stars in 2025–2026, after a 35th percentile year in 2024–2025. Its graduation rate is 88.4%, above the state's 84.9%, and End of Course science is 45% vs 35% statewide, but the dropout rate of 5.7% is above the state's 4.2%. All-grade math 26.5% and reading 35.6% trail both district and state, while science 27.0% edges past the state's 25.5%. Eighth-grade science is just 5.9% against 16.7% statewide. The high school improved year over year in all three subjects (math +5.67, reading +6.36, science +8.65). Still, the elementary school outperforms the high school by 40.3 points in math and 25.2 in reading, and it is the elementary that lifts district averages.
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