Summary:
ZIP code 55337 in Burnsville, Minnesota is home to two middle schools in this data set: Joseph Nicollet Middle School, which serves grades 6–8 with 50 students in Burnsville-Eagan-Savage Schools, and Universal Academy South Middle/High, which serves grades 7–8 with 11 students in Universal Academy Charter School.
On reported 2025-2026 proficiency, Joseph Nicollet is the stronger of the two: all-grade Math is 24.8% versus Universal's 18.8%, and Reading is 34.2% versus 16.7%. Universal's Science score is suppressed, so it cannot be compared. Both schools trail Minnesota in every reported all-grade metric — Joseph Nicollet by about 20.1 points in Math, 14.4 in Reading, and 19.5 in Science; Universal by 26.1 points in Math and 31.9 in Reading. Joseph Nicollet also sits much closer to its own district (within 3.4 points in Math and 1.6 in Reading), while Universal is 16.9 points below its district in Math and 24.2 points below in Reading. Notably, Universal's district ranks higher (276 of 458, 40th percentile, 2 stars) than Joseph Nicollet's (344 of 458, 25th percentile, 1 star), even though Universal's school-level scores are lower. Joseph Nicollet's relative strengths are 6th-grade Math (32.7%) and all grade-level Reading scores, which exceed district averages but remain below state averages; its weakest areas are 7th-grade Math (16.5%) and Science (6%).
These numbers should be read with caution. Both schools are very small: with 11 students at Universal, one student can shift a percentage by roughly 9 points, and with 50 at Joseph Nicollet, by about 2 points. Universal also has a much higher free/reduced-lunch rate (81.82%) than Joseph Nicollet (56%), which is useful context for achievement gaps. Universal's Science and most of its grade-level values are suppressed by the state and should be treated as unknown rather than low, leaving the all-grade Math and Reading scores and 7th-grade Reading (Joseph Nicollet 25.2%, Universal 20%) as the only solid comparisons.
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