Summary:
Central Public School District in Minnesota serves roughly 966 students across three schools — Central Elementary (PK–5, 413 students), Central Middle (6–8, 216 students), and Central Senior High (9–12, 337 students) — and the district ranks 125th of 458 Minnesota districts, placing it in the 73rd percentile with 4 stars.
Central Elementary is the clear academic standout, beating both the district and the state in all three subjects in 2025–2026: Math 66.3 (district 47.6, state 44.9), Reading 58.9 (district 55.4, state 48.6), and Science 34.5 (district 22.9, state 25.5). It ranks 171st of 869 schools — 80th percentile, 4 stars — and does this while carrying the district's highest free/reduced lunch rate (31.23%) and its lowest student-teacher ratio (14.2). Central Middle has held steady near the 64th percentile with 3 stars, and reading is its strength at 55.3, above the state's 48.6, but Math (35.0) and especially Science (12.2) lag well behind state figures. Central Senior High had the biggest swing, falling from 90th percentile and 5 stars in 2024–2025 to 56th percentile and 3 stars in 2025–2026, with Reading down 21.3 points, Science down 14.5, and Math down 9.5.
Even with that test-score volatility, Central Senior High graduates 94.1% of students versus 84.9% statewide, and its dropout rate of 2.3% is below the state's 4.2%. District-wide, Reading is the bright spot at 55.4, about 6.8 points above the state, while Science is the biggest concern at 22.9 — below the state's 25.5 and down 8.58 points in a year, compared with a 0.65-point state decline. Class sizes grow with grade level (14.2, 15.9, and 17.3 students per teacher), and the elementary school holds 42.8% of district enrollment.
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