Summary:
Dassel-Cokato Public Schools is a five-school, PK–12 district serving about 2,020 students in the central Minnesota communities of Cokato and Dassel. It ranks 17th of 458 Minnesota districts — the 96th percentile — with a 5-star rating, and all four of its ranked schools also hold 5 stars. The district includes two elementary schools (PK–4), one middle school (5–8), one comprehensive high school (9–12), and one alternative high school program (9–12).
Each school has a distinct profile. Dassel Elementary is the math leader, with 78.9% of students proficient in math — 34 points above the state — and 4th grade math at 80.6%. Cokato Elementary leads in reading at 65.8%, including 4th grade reading of 71.3%, which is 22.5 points above the state. Dassel-Cokato Senior High posted the year's biggest swing, with math rising from 42.86% to 62.2% and its rank climbing from 132nd to 39th; its science result (48.3% vs. the state's 25.5%) also stands out. Dassel-Cokato Middle has the district's longest unbroken run of 5-star ratings, with strong 8th grade math (65.4%) and reading (61.5%). Dassel-Cokato Alternative Center is too small for the state to report its test scores.
Overall the district outperforms the state in every subject: +18.5 points in math, +10.4 in reading, and +6.8 in science. The elementaries are the academic engine, while science is the soft spot and is concentrated at the middle school, where 27.7% proficiency sits only slightly above the state's 25.5%. The only school-level result below the state is 5th grade reading (53.2% vs. 54.5%). The alternative center remains a data blind spot, but its 84.6% graduation rate and 3.8% dropout rate — below the state's 4.2% — are encouraging.
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