Summary:
ZIP code 55371 is home to two middle schools serving grades 6–8, both part of the Princeton Public School District in Minnesota: the large traditional Princeton Middle School and the small online option Princeton Online MN 6-8. The district is ranked 141st of 458 in Minnesota, at the 69th percentile with 3 stars. The two schools differ sharply in size: Princeton Middle enrolls 740 students with a 29.73% free/reduced lunch rate and an 18.7 student/teacher ratio, while Princeton Online enrolls just 25 students with a 48% free/reduced lunch rate and no reported student/teacher ratio.
At the all-grade level, Princeton Online MN 6-8 ranks higher — 127th of 546, the 77th percentile with 4 stars — than Princeton Middle School, which ranks 197th of 546, the 64th percentile with 3 stars. Princeton Online also leads in reading (54.5% vs. 47%) and science (30% vs. 20.3%), both above district and state averages. Math is the opposite story: Princeton Middle's 38% beats Princeton Online's 26.1%, though both fall below the district (45.5%) and state (44.9%). Notably, Princeton Online's high rank comes despite much lower math proficiency, and its tiny enrollment plus many state-suppressed grade-level values mean those results should be read with caution — suppressed values are unknown, not zero.
Princeton Middle offers the steadier, better-documented picture: three years of 3-star rankings (188th, 205th, and 197th, between the 61st and 66th percentiles) and grade-level bright spots, including 8th-grade math at 44.8% and 7th-grade reading at 47.2%, both above state. Its all-grade science slipped from 23.08% to 20.3%, and reading dipped slightly from 47.99% to 47%. Parents weighing the two should note Princeton Online's stronger reading and science against its thinner data and uncertain trend stability.
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