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
551	North Lakes Academy Elementary	Public, Charter	K-6	4576 232nd St N	Forest Lake	55025	Washington County	North Lakes Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(651) 982-2773	220	16	13.6	46.4%	181 (82.3%)	4 (1.8%)	12 (5.5%)	8 (3.6%)	5 (2.3%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (4.5%)								42	48.7	506	45		270017705239
552	Orchard Lake Elementary	Public	K-5	16531 Klamath Trail	Lakeville	55044	Dakota County	Lakeville Area Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(952) 232-2100	390	28	13.8	32.1%	239 (61.3%)	54 (13.8%)	41 (10.5%)	14 (3.6%)	3 (0.8%)	3 (0.8%)	36 (9.2%)	$13,489							41.9	53.1	454	98		271778000818
553	McKinley Elementary	Public	K-5	1050 22nd St. NE	Owatonna	55060	Steele County	Owatonna Public School District	No	No	No	Yes	(507) 444-8200	510	39	13.1	48.2%	301 (59.0%)	88 (17.3%)	99 (19.4%)	3 (0.6%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (3.1%)	$11,896							41.9	60.5	368	185		272805001226
554	Richfield Dual Language School	Public	PK, KG-5	7001 Elliot Ave S	Richfield	55423	Hennepin County	Richfield Public School District	No	No	No	Yes	(612) 798-6700	529	36	14.6	45.7%	118 (22.3%)	16 (3.0%)	370 (69.9%)	4 (0.8%)	3 (0.6%)	1 (0.2%)	17 (3.2%)	$13,730							41.8	30.2	652	98		273175004212
555	Karlstad Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	303 Pembina Trl S	Karlstad	56732	Kittson County	Tri-County School District	No	No	No	Yes	(218) 436-2374	96	7	14.2	47.9%	90 (93.8%)	1 (1.0%)	1 (1.0%)	2 (2.1%)	1 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.0%)	$13,407							41.6	56.7	421	134		279144602313
556	Lakeaires Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	3963 Van Dyke	White Bear Lake	55110	Ramsey County	White Bear Lake School District	No	No	No	Yes	(651) 653-2809	396	27	14.6	46.0%	234 (59.1%)	15 (3.8%)	67 (16.9%)	43 (10.9%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	35 (8.8%)	$13,632							41.6	50.4	488	68		274236001790
557	Browerville Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	620 Park Ave N	Browerville	56438	Todd County	Browerville Public School District	No	No	No	Yes	(320) 594-2272	275	0		56.0%	240 (87.3%)	0 (0.0%)	31 (11.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.5%)	$9,494							41.5	58	404	153		270630000277
558	Kennedy Community School	Public, Alternative	PK, KG-9	1300 Jade Rd	Saint Joseph	56374	Stearns County	St. Cloud Public School District	No	No	No	Yes	(320) 370-7430	582	46	12.6	49.7%	344 (59.1%)	144 (24.7%)	56 (9.6%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	36 (6.2%)	$12,860							41.5	50	492	66		273351001485
559	FIT Academy	Public, Charter	K-5	7200 147th St W	Apple Valley	55124	Dakota County	FIT Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(952) 847-3798	264	23	11.7	42.4%	144 (54.5%)	70 (26.5%)	26 (9.8%)	9 (3.4%)	2 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (4.9%)	$15,346							41.4	35.8	608	49		270042504902
560	Red Oak Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	7700 Old Carriage Ct	Shakopee	55379	Scott County	Shakopee Public School District	No	No	No	Yes	(952) 496-5852	452	36	12.6	54.2%	133 (29.4%)	126 (27.9%)	89 (19.7%)	64 (14.2%)	5 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	35 (7.7%)	$12,399							41.4	55.8	428	132		273300003166

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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:

State-Administered Standardized Tests: A Comprehensive Guide

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

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