Summary:
The Wheaton Area Public School District in Minnesota serves 352 students across just two schools: Pearson Elementary, serving grades PK–5 with 177 students, and Wheaton Secondary, a combined middle and high school serving grades 6–12 with 175 students. The district is ranked 316th of 458 in Minnesota, placing it in the 31st percentile with 2 stars. The two schools are close in size and have similar free/reduced-price lunch rates — 44.07% at Pearson and 40.57% at Wheaton Secondary — so poverty rates do not explain the different results at each school.
Each school has a distinct strength. Pearson Elementary's clearest bright spot is math: in 2025–2026, 49.5% of students were proficient in math, above the district's 36.4% and the state's 44.9%, with third-grade math at 64.5% versus 57.9% statewide. Wheaton Secondary stands out for completion outcomes, posting a 96.1% graduation rate and a 0.0% dropout rate in 2024–2025, both far better than the state's 84.9% graduation rate and 4.2% dropout rate. Students there are finishing school at high rates.
Proficiency, however, is a concern district-wide, especially in science. Pearson's science proficiency was just 3.4% in 2025–2026, compared with the district's 11.5% and the state's 25.5%, and fifth-grade science was 3.4% versus 25.9% statewide. At Wheaton Secondary, math was 23.4% and reading 35.5%, both well below state, with 11th-grade math at 12.5% and 8th-grade reading at 25.9%. The district also declined noticeably from 2024–2025, when both schools earned 3 stars; in 2025–2026, Pearson fell to 2 stars and Wheaton Secondary to 1 star. Science, along with secondary math and reading, are the most urgent areas to examine.
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