Best Middle Schools in Minnesota

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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.

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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
31	Waconia Middle School	Public	6-8	1400 Community Dr	Waconia	55387	Carver County	Waconia Public School District	No	No	No	No	(952) 442-0650	885	61	14.4	14.1%	763 (86.2%)	21 (2.4%)	47 (5.3%)	9 (1.0%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	43 (4.9%)	$11,159							89.8	86.4	44	13		274146003066
32	Watertown-Mayer Middle	Public	5-8	1001 Highway 25 NW	Watertown	55388	Carver County	Watertown-Mayer Public School District	No	No	No	No	(952) 955-0400	418	27	15.5	25.6%	387 (92.6%)	5 (1.2%)	13 (3.1%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (2.6%)	$8,458							89.6	83	61	29		274191000024
33	Hawley Secondary	Public	7-12	714 Joseph St	Hawley	56549	Clay County	Hawley Public School District	No	No	No	No	(218) 483-3555	453	36	12.6	16.8%	427 (94.3%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (2.9%)	4 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.0%)	$10,598							89.1	89	34	1		271356000699
34	Luverne Middle	Public	6-8	709 N Kniss Ave	Luverne	56156	Rock County	Luverne Public School District	No	No	No	No	(507) 283-4491	271	20	13.7	31.4%	236 (87.1%)	3 (1.1%)	18 (6.6%)	3 (1.1%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (3.7%)	$9,351							88.3	78.9	78	44		271833002471
35	Pioneer Ridge Middle School	Public	6-8	1085 Pioneer Trail East	Chaska	55318	Carver County	Eastern Carver County Public School	No	No	No	No	(952) 556-7800	418	30	13.7	14.1%	335 (80.1%)	18 (4.3%)	27 (6.5%)	10 (2.4%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (6.5%)	$12,977							88.3	89.5	31	4		270819003180
36	Capitol Hill Magnet/Rondo	Public, Magnet	1-8	560 Rondo Ave	Saint Paul	55103	Ramsey County	Saint Paul Public Schools	No	Yes	No	No	(651) 325-2500	1,066	49	21.6	41.6%	435 (40.8%)	236 (22.1%)	79 (7.4%)	185 (17.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	131 (12.3%)	$12,271							88.1	90.7	27	9		273384001594
37	Lincoln Secondary	Public	7-12	2 E Highway 61	Esko	55733	Carlton County	Esko Public School District	No	No	No	No	(218) 879-4673	603	32	18.6	10.3%	550 (91.2%)	2 (0.3%)	13 (2.2%)	4 (0.7%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	31 (5.1%)	$11,097							87.9	88.1	38	1		273888001681
38	Byron Middle School	Public	6-8	601 4th St NW	Byron	55920	Olmsted County	Byron Public School District	No	No	No	No	(507) 775-2189	577	32	17.9	14.2%	508 (88.0%)	5 (0.9%)	25 (4.3%)	14 (2.4%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (4.0%)	$10,272							87.8	84	57	19		270735000981
39	Chisago Lakes Middle	Public	6-8	13750 Lake Blvd	Lindstrom	55045	Chisago County	Chisago Lakes School District	No	No	No	No	(651) 213-2400	742	50	14.9	24.9%	668 (90.0%)	4 (0.5%)	27 (3.6%)	15 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (3.8%)	$10,614							87.7	81.9	66	27		270001700351
40	Dakota Hills Middle	Public	6-8	4183 Braddock Tr	Eagan	55123	Dakota County	Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan	No	No	No	No	(651) 683-6800	1,184	66	18	16.0%	769 (64.9%)	76 (6.4%)	87 (7.3%)	148 (12.5%)	5 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	99 (8.4%)	$11,119							87.6	90.2	28	12		273239000484

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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 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:

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

High school students working on a science experiment

Magnet Schools: Unleashing the Power of 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.