Summary:
ZIP code 55049 covers Medford, Minnesota, and contains two schools serving about 845 students in the Medford Public School District: Medford Elementary (PK–6, 466 students) and Medford Secondary (7–12, 379 students). There is no separate middle school; grades 7–8 are housed in the secondary building. The district ranks 321 of 458 in Minnesota, in the 30th percentile with 2 stars.
The two schools are heading in opposite directions. Medford Secondary improved from the 32nd percentile in 2023–2024 to the 42nd percentile in 2025–2026, and its completion numbers are the strongest finding in the data: a 98.0% graduation rate against the state's 84.9%, and a 1.9% dropout rate versus 4.2% statewide. Its 11th-grade math score of 40.4% is the one grade-level subject where it beats the state (35.3%). Its test scores are still below state averages in all-grade math (31.6% vs 44.9%), reading (32.6% vs 48.6%), and science (15.5% vs 25.5%), with 10th-grade reading (27.5% vs 42.5%) and 7th-grade math (22.2% vs 40.3%) the weakest spots. Medford Elementary fell from the 43rd percentile to the 24th, dropping from 2 stars to 1 star, and declined in math, reading, and science year over year.
Science is the shared weak point: elementary science is 7.2% versus 25.5% statewide, and 5th-grade math is 10.6% against 41.9% statewide — a 31.3-point gap. Elementary reading in grades 4 and 5 is comparatively close to state averages. Free/reduced lunch is similar at both schools (35.62% and 34.04%); the secondary has a higher student-teacher ratio, 16.9 versus 14.
Thank you for your feedback!