Lancaster Public School District

Lancaster Public School District in Minnesota serves about 208 students across just two schools: Lancaster Elementary (PK–6, 122 students) and Lancaster Secondary (7–12, 86 students). The district overall is ranked 354 out of 458 in Minnesota, placing it at the 23rd percentile with 1 star.

Academically, Lancaster Elementary is the stronger of the two schools. In 2025–2026 it beat the district average in Math (35.6% vs. 27.7%), Reading (44.1% vs. 37.2%), and Science (22.2% vs. 17.5%), though it still trailed the state in all three. Its best result was 4th grade Reading at 50%, above the state's 48.8%. Lancaster Secondary fell well below both the district and state: Math 14.3%, Reading 25.7%, and Science 13.6%. Several of its grade-level results were 0% — 11th grade Math, 8th grade Math, and 8th grade Science — and 8th grade Reading was only 8.3%, against a state figure of 50%. Its 7th graders did comparatively better, with Math and Reading both at 38.5%.

A bright spot for Lancaster Secondary is its 2024–2025 graduation rate of 88.8%, above the state's 84.9%, even though its 5.5% dropout rate was also above the state's 4.2%. Both schools have slipped in state rankings over three years: Lancaster Elementary dropped from the 53rd percentile in 2024–2025 to the 31st in 2025–2026, while Lancaster Secondary fell from the 52nd percentile in 2023–2024 to the 27th. Free/reduced lunch is 63.93% at the elementary and 50% at the secondary, and student/teacher ratios are similar (14.8 and 14.4), so staffing does not explain the achievement gap. With such small enrollments, year-to-year swings should be read with caution, and the elementary's 3rd grade Math and Reading scores are suppressed by the state, so those results are unknown.