Best Elementary Schools in Minnesota

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Find the best Minnesota elementary schools with SchoolDigger.com! Focused on test scores for accurate rankings, our user-friendly site simplifies your search. Empower your decisions by exploring top-rated schools, only on SchoolDigger.com - the ultimate guide to K-12 schools!

Year after year, SchoolDigger is always the first to publish Minnesota test scores and rankings. Other sites use stale test score data that are several years old! Be in the know with the very latest performance metrics.

The list is updated annually upon the release of the MCA-III test scores by the Minnesota Department of Education. The most recent update was on Friday, August 29, 2025.

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School														Students/Teachers											Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)							Ranking (2025 vs 2024)					ID
Rank (of 872)	School	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Disc Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel from Federal Funds	Total from Federal Funds	Personnel from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Total from State and Local Funds	Average Standard Score (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Rank (2024)	Rank Change from 2024	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	ID
541	Pine City Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	700 6th Ave SW	Pine City	55063	Pine County	Pine City Public School District	No	No	No	Yes	(320) 629-4212	863	58	15	43.2%	743 (86.1%)	2 (0.2%)	38 (4.4%)	16 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	64 (7.4%)	$11,089							42.8	43.5	556	15		272838001255
542	LILA Lower School	Public, Charter	1-5	246 SE 11th Ave	Forest Lake	55025	Washington County	Lakes International Language Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(651) 464-0771	607	41	14.8	20.8%	436 (71.8%)	22 (3.6%)	84 (13.8%)	34 (5.6%)	6 (1.0%)	1 (0.2%)	24 (4.0%)	$9,418							42.8	52.4	462	80		270035804102
543	Bancroft Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	3829 13th Ave South	Minneapolis	55407	Hennepin County	Minneapolis Public School District	No	No	No	Yes	(612) 668-3550	477	36	13.2	56.4%	208 (43.6%)	67 (14.0%)	140 (29.4%)	13 (2.7%)	11 (2.3%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (8.0%)	$17,079							42.7	53.9	446	97		272124000941
544	Tatanka Elementary STEM School	Public	K-5	703 8th St NE	Buffalo	55313	Wright County	Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(763) 682-8600	393	26	14.8	35.1%	301 (76.6%)	32 (8.1%)	24 (6.1%)	7 (1.8%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (6.9%)	$10,828							42.5	29.4	659	115		270720001875
545	Badger Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	110 Carpenter Ave	Badger	56714	Roseau County	Badger Public School District	No	No	No	Yes	(218) 528-3201	124	10	12.4	58.1%	107 (86.3%)	3 (2.4%)	1 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (10.5%)	$15,486							42.5	49	501	44		270354000162
546	Southview Elementary	Public	2-4	601 E Southview Dr	Marshall	56258	Lyon County	Marshall Public School District	No	No	No	Yes	(507) 537-6924	524	45	11.7	58.6%	257 (49.0%)	35 (6.7%)	127 (24.2%)	70 (13.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	35 (6.7%)								42.5	46.6	534	12		271894005391
547	Northside Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1800 Nevada Ave	Benson	56215	Swift County	Benson Public School District	No	No	No	Yes	(320) 843-2710	391	23	16.7	38.4%	315 (80.6%)	6 (1.5%)	44 (11.3%)	11 (2.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (3.8%)	$12,180							42.3	44.9	545	2		270447000201
548	Heron Lake-Okabena Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	321 Stearns Ave	Heron Lake	56137	Jackson County	Heron Lake-Okabena School District	No	No	No	Yes	(507) 793-2307	123	12	10.5	50.4%	98 (79.7%)	2 (1.6%)	16 (13.0%)	1 (0.8%)	3 (2.4%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (2.4%)	$12,646							42.2	35.3	615	67		271393000015
549	Blue Earth Area Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	315 E 6th St	Blue Earth	56013	Faribault County	Blue Earth Area School District	No	No	No	Yes	(507) 526-3090	515	33	15.4	52.8%	374 (72.6%)	3 (0.6%)	122 (23.7%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (2.7%)	$11,825							42.2	37.2	599	50		270013000241
550	Waterville Elementary	Public	PK, KG-4	500 Paquin St E	Waterville	56096	Le Sueur County	Waterville-Elysian-Morristown	No	No	No	Yes	(507) 362-4439	264	21	12.5	35.6%	240 (90.9%)	2 (0.8%)	13 (4.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (3.4%)	$12,980							42.1	59.2	382	168		270001301752

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Other SchoolDigger ranking lists for Minnesota

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New! SchoolDigger ranking lists for MN student subgroups:

Female Students Male Students Asian Students African American Students Hispanic Students Native American Students White Students Multi-racial Students English Language Learner Students Special Education Students Low Socio Economic Status Students

About our rankings:

Schooldigger calculates school rankings based on MCA-III Math, MCA-III Reading test scores released by the Minnesota Department of Education.
These rankings were last updated on August 29, 2025, and are based on the most recent test scores available. We update rankings as we receive new test scores from the Minnesota Department of Education, usually on a yearly basis.
Our sources of data include the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education and the Minnesota Department of Education.
For more information about our ranking process, please see our Ranking FAQ. Details about our methodology are here.

Educational resources:

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): Transforming Education in America

Girl in a wheelchair raising her hand in a classroom setting

Understanding an IEP: The Ultimate Guide for Parents and Educators

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Minnesota Department of Education.