Best Public Schools in Zip Code 55306

Zip code 55306 is served by two schools in the STEP Academy district—STEP Academy Kg-5th - Burnsville, an elementary school for grades K–5, and STEP Academy 6-12 - Burnsville, a middle school listed for grades 6–10, both at 14450 Burnhaven Dr in Burnsville—with 267 students combined, one elementary, one middle, no high school or alternative school, and a district ranking at the 20th percentile with 1 star.

Both schools are bottom-quartile, 1-star schools: the elementary school ranks in the 16th percentile and the middle school in the 20th percentile. Free/reduced lunch eligibility is near-universal, at 98.83% and 96.88%, respectively. The elementary school has a much lower student-teacher ratio, 12.8 versus 24.7 at the middle school. In all-grade 2025-26 proficiency, the elementary school has 23.1% math, 30.2% reading, and 0% science; the middle school has 9% math, 35.3% reading, and 7.9% science. State levels are 44.9% math, 48.6% reading, and 25.5% science. The clearest bright spot is the elementary school’s 4th grade, at 60% proficient in both math and reading, above the state in both. The middle school’s strongest subject is reading: 35.3% all grades, essentially at the district average, and 7th grade reading is 40.9%, above the district’s 31.3% but below the state’s 43.5%.

Science is the biggest concern, with elementary science at 0% in all grades and 5th grade and middle science at 7.9% all grades and 0% in 8th grade. Middle-school math is also far below the state: 9% all grades, with even the strongest grade, 8th, at 14.3% versus the state’s 42.3%. Year-over-year, elementary math improved from 16.47% to 23.1%, but elementary reading and science declined; middle-school math and reading declined, while science rose slightly from a very low base. For parents, the elementary school shows one notable 4th-grade bright spot but uneven results elsewhere, and the middle school’s relative strength is reading while math and science remain major gaps. The very high economic need at both schools is important context; the data does not prove what causes the outcomes. Also, despite the “6-12” name, the listed middle-school grades stop at 10, so this data does not show grades 11–12.