Summary:
South Washington County Schools in Minnesota serves grades 6–8 across four middle schools — Lake Middle School, Woodbury Middle School, Cottage Grove Middle School, and Oltman Middle School — enrolling a combined 4,286 students, with individual enrollments ranging from 956 to 1,165. The district is ranked 144th of 458 in Minnesota, placing it at the 69th percentile with 3 stars, but that single district rating hides wide variation among its schools.
Lake Middle School is the clear standout: ranked 24th of 546 statewide in 2025–2026 (96th percentile, 5 stars), it is the only school here above both district and state averages in all three subjects, with 66.5% math, 64.8% reading, and 27.7% science. Woodbury Middle School is a consistent 4-star school around the 75th percentile, above state in math and reading but below district in all three subjects. Oltman Middle School is the improver, climbing from 244th to 212nd over three reported years, though it remains below district and state in every subject. Cottage Grove Middle School has the weakest results and a downward trend, falling from 247th to 279th and from 3 stars to 2 stars; its 31.6% math is the lowest in the group.
Science is the shared weakness — every school scores far lower in science than in math or reading, and only Lake exceeds the state's 25.5%. Math shows the widest gap between schools, from 66.5% at Lake to 31.6% at Cottage Grove, a 34.9-point spread. Free/reduced lunch ranges from 12.36% at Lake to 29.6% at Oltman, and student/teacher ratios run from 16.2 at Cottage Grove to 23.8 at Woodbury; neither tracks performance in a simple way, as the two highest-ratio schools rank highest.
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