Minnetonka West Middle

Minnetonka West Middle in Excelsior, MN is a grades 6–8 public school serving 1,297 students in the Minnetonka Public School District, a suburban district west of Minneapolis. It is one of Minnesota's elite middle schools: rated 5 stars and ranked 7th out of 546 middle schools statewide in 2025–2026, placing it in the 99th percentile. That is not a one-year fluke — the school has stayed in the top 1–2% for a decade, peaking at #1 statewide in 2018–2019.

Math and reading are the school's standout strengths. In 2025–2026, 73.0% of students were proficient in math and 74.3% in reading — roughly 28 and 26 percentage points above state averages. Compared with nearby middle schools, Minnetonka West trails only Minnetonka East Middle (3rd statewide, 74.8% math, 77.2% reading) and is close to Westonka Middle School. It comfortably outpaces Wayzata West Middle (64.0% math), Chaska Middle School West (64.7%), Central Middle School in Eden Prairie (49.6%) and Hopkins West Middle School (29.6%). Science needs care: the all-grade 37.6% trails the district figure, but the like-for-like 8th-grade comparison is level with the district (37.9%) and far above the state (16.7%). Still, science has dropped from 55.9% in 2023–2024, a decline that mirrors district and state trends.

Within the school, 6th-grade reading (82.4%) and 8th-grade math (77.2%) are especially strong, while 7th grade is the relative soft spot — still well above state averages but slightly below district averages. The school ranks in the top 1–2% statewide for most student groups, including Asian, Hispanic, special education, female, male, white and multiracial students, with low-income students at the 91st percentile. The clear exception is African American students, who rank at about the 50th percentile (3 stars) — a gap that has persisted and is the most important internal finding for the school. Enrollment is large, poverty is low (10.56% free/reduced lunch), and the student/teacher ratio is 16:1.