Summary:
Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted has just one middle school: Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted Middle, which serves grades 5–8 and enrolls 393 students in Howard Lake, Minnesota. It is part of the Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted district, which is ranked 269 out of 458 districts in the state — 41st percentile, with a 2-star rating. The school itself earns 3 stars and ranks 237 out of 546 schools statewide, putting it in the 57th percentile — above its own district's standing. About 30.28% of students qualified for free or reduced lunch in 2024–2025, and the student-to-teacher ratio was 20.5 to 1.
Reading is this school's clear strength. In 2025–2026, 52.1% of students were proficient in Reading — above the district's 45.2% and the state's 48.6%. Grades 6, 7, and 8 all beat the state in Reading, with 7th grade showing the biggest advantage (51.6% vs. the state's 43.5%). Reading also held steady year over year, dipping only 0.11 points while the district fell 2.57 points and the state 0.99 points. For parents, that means the school's reading instruction is performing better than most comparable schools around it.
Math and Science are the areas to watch. All-grade Math proficiency was 25.9%, well below the district's 33.0% and the state's 44.9% — a 19-point gap. Science was even lower at 12.6%, versus 17.3% district and 25.5% state. Fifth grade Math stands out as the weakest result, at 12.9% compared with the state's 41.9%. Math also dropped 5.61 points in one year while the district barely moved, suggesting a school-specific slide. Although the school remains above the state median, its rank has slipped from the 66th percentile to 57th over three years. The takeaway: strong reading, but Math and Science need the most attention.
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