Best Middle Schools in Minnesota

A teacher high-fives a student in a classroom.

Find the best Minnesota middle 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.

Be the first to know when we post new test scores and rankings!

School														Students/Teachers											Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)							Ranking (2025 vs 2024)					ID
Rank (of 519)	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
251	Westbrook-Walnut Grove Secondary	Public	7-12	344 8th St	Westbrook	56183	Cottonwood County	Westbrook-Walnut Grove Schools	No	No	No	No	(507) 274-5450	198	17	11.7	56.1%	127 (64.1%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (6.6%)	54 (27.3%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.5%)	$20,733							50.4	29.9	403	152		270018301782
252	Willow Creek Middle School	Public	6-8	2425 11th Ave SE	Rochester	55904	Olmsted County	Rochester Public School District	No	No	No	No	(507) 328-5900	864	0		35.5%	484 (56.0%)	84 (9.7%)	171 (19.8%)	58 (6.7%)	4 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	63 (7.3%)	$12,038							50.4	44.4	308	56		273180001019
253	Universal Academy Middle/High	Public, Charter, Alternative	7-11	2912 28th Ave S	Minneapolis	55406	Hennepin County	Universal Academy Charter School	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(651) 340-5994	154	6	26.9	89.6%	1 (0.6%)	147 (95.5%)	1 (0.6%)	1 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (2.6%)								50.3	56.5	226	27		270039312728
254	Staples-Motley Middle School	Public	5-8	401 Centennial Dr	Staples	56479	Todd County	Staples-Motley School District	No	No	No	Yes	(218) 894-5400	284	19	14.6	51.8%	256 (90.1%)	1 (0.4%)	6 (2.1%)	3 (1.1%)	2 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (5.6%)	$11,957							50.3	46.9	291	37		273390002468
255	Avalon Middle School	Public, Charter	6-8	700 Glendale Street	Saint Paul	55114	Ramsey County	Avalon School	Yes	No	No	No	(651) 649-5795	75	7	10.1	29.3%	43 (57.3%)	7 (9.3%)	11 (14.7%)	2 (2.7%)	2 (2.7%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (13.3%)	$9,584							50.3	47.5	286	31		270018704664
256	Sebeka Secondary	Public	7-12	200 1st St NW	Sebeka	56477	Wadena County	Sebeka Public School District	No	No	No	Yes	(218) 837-5101	233	17	13.6	48.9%	213 (91.4%)	1 (0.4%)	2 (0.9%)	1 (0.4%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (6.4%)	$12,234							50.1	49.2	272	16		273297001436
257	Coon Rapids Middle School	Public	6-8	11600 Raven St NW	Coon Rapids	55433	Anoka County	Anoka-Hennepin School District	No	No	No	No	(763) 506-4800	1,295	82	15.8	55.6%	567 (43.8%)	300 (23.2%)	123 (9.5%)	153 (11.8%)	7 (0.5%)	1 (0.1%)	144 (11.1%)	$12,551							50	40.7	333	76		270318000099
258	Kaleidoscope Middle School	Public, Charter	6-8	7525 Kalland Ave NE	Otsego	55301	Wright County	Kaleidoscope Charter School	Yes	No	No	No	(763) 428-1890	117	1	93.6	31.6%	91 (77.8%)	7 (6.0%)	10 (8.5%)	3 (2.6%)	2 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (3.4%)	$3,592							49.8	50.3	265	7		270036005071
259	Memorial Middle School	Public	6-8	600 E Harvey St	Ely	55731	St. Louis County	Ely Public School District	No	No	No	Yes	(218) 365-6166	146	8	18.1	28.8%	139 (95.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (4.1%)	$7,566							49.6	61.1	190	69		271152004645
260	Red Lake County Central High School	Public	7-12	201 Governor St	Oklee	56742	Red Lake County	Red Lake County Central Public School	No	No	No	No	(218) 796-5136	153	14	11	33.3%	136 (88.9%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (4.6%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (3.9%)	$16,245							49.5	41.1	328	68		270038504735

Sign up for updates!

Be the first to know when we update our rankings!

Other SchoolDigger ranking lists for Minnesota

Elementary Schools Middle Schools High Schools Districts Cities

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 Homeless 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:

No Child Left Behind (NCLB): A Comprehensive Analysis of Its Impact on Education

Alternative Schools vs Public Schools: A Comparison

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