Summary:
The Hancock Public School District serves roughly 437 students across two schools sharing one PK–12 campus in Hancock, a small rural community in west-central Minnesota: Hancock Elementary (PK–6, 233 students) and Hancock Sec. (7–12, 204 students). Together they make the district 6th of 458 in Minnesota — top 1% statewide — with 5 stars.
Both schools are standouts, but in different subjects. Hancock Elementary is the math and reading engine: 83.7% proficiency in math and 76.9% in reading, about 1.9x and 1.6x the state rates. Grades 3 and 4 each posted 100% math proficiency, against state rates of 57.9% and 55.2%. Hancock Sec. is the science standout, at 59.2% all-grades science proficiency — more than double the state's 25.5% — and 69.7% End-of-Course science versus 35% statewide. It also reports a 93.5% graduation rate (vs. 84.9% state) and a 0.0% dropout rate (vs. 4.2%).
Neither school carries the district alone. The high school improved sharply this year (+7.7 points in math, +12.2 in science), while the elementary gained 4.3 points in math but slipped 4.0 points in reading. The one area where a Hancock school sits below its own district average is elementary science — 35.9% at grade 5 only, versus 50.9% for the district and 59.2% at the high school — the clearest internal opportunity. Both schools have earned 5 stars for three straight years, so this is steady performance rather than a single lucky year. Because the district is small, individual grade results rest on few students, making that multi-year stability the more reliable signal for families.
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