Beta You're viewing our redesigned school list. Prefer the classic layout?

Best Public Schools in Zip Code 55421

New rankings! SchoolDigger recently updated its Minnesota rankings with newly released test scores for the 2025-26 school year.

Be the first to know when we post new rankings!

At a glance

Schools

3,994

Students

Districts

Top rankedBultum Academy694^th of 869 Minnesota elementary schools

▲

Biggest riser

Valley View Elementary up 14 spots statewide this year

◉

Smallest classes

Prodeo Columbia Heights Elementary 7.8 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

1★

0★

5 schools without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

See the top-ranked Minnesota schools →

Summary:

ZIP code 55421, covering Columbia Heights and nearby areas, has 12 schools — 5 elementary, 3 middle, 4 high, and no alternative schools — enrolling 3,994 students across three districts: Columbia Heights Public School District (~3,009 students, about 75% of the total), Prodeo Academy (~736), and Bultum Academy Charter School (249). Enrollment is concentrated in a few buildings: Columbia Heights Senior High is largest at 1,141 students, followed by Columbia Academy (719), Valley View Elementary (568), and Highland Elementary (534). The area is high-poverty: free/reduced-lunch rates among reporting schools range from 72.22% to 90.75%, averaging about 80%. District ratings are low — Columbia Heights sits at the 7th percentile (0 stars), while Prodeo and Bultum are each around the 20th–24th percentile (1 star).

Bultum Academy is the ZIP's bright spot, leading all-grade 2025-2026 proficiency in every tested subject: 25.6% math, 32.7% reading, and 11.9% science. Its 8th grade science (18.8%) beats the state's 16.7%, and 3rd grade math (54.3%) nears the state's 57.9%, though 4th grade math and reading both drop to 9.4%. Among Columbia Heights district elementaries, Highland Elementary leads math at 18.7%, above the district's 13.2%. Virtual Heights Secondary has the ZIP's highest graduation rate (90.9%), but with only 19 students and suppressed test scores, its academics cannot be measured.

No school here matches the state in all-grade math, reading, or science. Science is the widest gap: Prodeo Columbia Heights Middle is at 1.5%, Columbia Academy at 3.1%, and Prodeo Columbia Heights Elementary at 3.0%, against the state's 25.5%. At Columbia Heights Senior High, 11th grade math is 9.9% versus the state's 35.3%, and the 9.0% dropout rate is more than double the state's 4.2%, even though its 86.0% graduation rate edges above the state's 84.9%. Test data is suppressed for Virtual Heights Secondary, Anchor, and Columbia Academy Anchor Program — those results are unknown, not zero.

Load more schools when map is moved

Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Vaccination Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				MCA-IV Reading (2026)								MCA-IV Science (2026)				MCA-III Math (2026)								Vaccination (2025-26)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	MCA-IV Reading 3rd Grade	MCA-IV Reading 4th Grade	MCA-IV Reading 5th Grade	MCA-IV Reading 6th Grade	MCA-IV Reading 7th Grade	MCA-IV Reading 8th Grade	MCA-IV Reading 10th Grade	MCA-IV Reading All Grades	MCA-IV Science 5th Grade	MCA-IV Science 8th Grade	MCA-IV Science End of Course	MCA-IV Science All Grades	MCA-III Math 3rd Grade	MCA-III Math 4th Grade	MCA-III Math 5th Grade	MCA-III Math 6th Grade	MCA-III Math 7th Grade	MCA-III Math 8th Grade	MCA-III Math 11th Grade	MCA-III Math All Grades	Vaccination: Kindergartners vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR)	Vaccination: Exemption rate	Total
Prodeo Columbia Heights Primary	Public, Charter	PK, KG-1	4141 University Ave NE	Columbia Heights	55421	Anoka County	Prodeo Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(763) 205-9950	218	21	10.3	88.1%	19 (8.7%)	149 (68.3%)	41 (18.8%)	2 (0.9%)	5 (2.3%)	1 (0.5%)	1 (0.5%)								(n/a)																					83.3%	0%	$17,501
Prodeo Columbia Heights Elementary	Public, Charter	2-5	4141 University Ave NE	Columbia Heights	55421	Anoka County	Prodeo Academy	Yes	No	No	No	(763) 205-9950	227	29	7.8	90.7%	9 (4.0%)	152 (67.0%)	62 (27.3%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.9%)	1 (0.4%)	11.7	781^st of 869 public elementary schools	10.1%		13.7	763^rd of 872 public elementary schools	12.5%	18	12.5	34.7	23.9					24.1	3.0			3.0	15.9	36.6	9.0					20.9
Prodeo Columbia Heights Middle	Public, Charter	6-8	4141 University Ave NE	Columbia Heights	55421	Anoka County	Prodeo Academy	Yes	No	No	No	(763) 205-9950	291	22	13.2	89.0%	8 (2.7%)	192 (66.0%)	75 (25.8%)	2 (0.7%)	2 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (4.1%)	12.2	489^th of 546 public middle schools	10.4%		15.1	460^th of 519 public middle schools	11.4%	29				26.8	17.8	19.4		21.3		1.5		1.5				18.3	13.7	10.4		14.2
Bultum Academy	Public, Charter	PK, KG-8	1555 40th Ave NE	Columbia Heights	55421	Anoka County	Bultum Academy Charter School	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(763) 450-3522	249	20	12.5	83.1%	10 (4.0%)	239 (96.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	23.8	694^th of 869 public elementary schools	20.1%		26.8	676^th of 872 public elementary schools	22.5%	18	40.0	9.4	38.5	37.9	33.3	43.8		32.7	7.7	18.8		11.9	54.3	9.4	26.9	17.2	16.7	18.8		25.6	42.1%	0%
Columbia Academy	Public	6-8	900 49th Ave NE	Columbia Heights	55421	Anoka County	Columbia Heights Public School District	No	No	No	Yes	(763) 528-4701	719	42	17.2	78.7%	83 (11.5%)	177 (24.6%)	395 (54.9%)	22 (3.1%)	4 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (5.3%)	11.6	492^nd of 546 public middle schools	9.9%		11.6	474^th of 519 public middle schools	8.7%	18				23.0	15.5	27.3		22.0		3.1		3.1				10.0	11.5	13.3		11.6			$12,741
Columbia Heights Senior High	Public	9-12	1400 49th Ave NE	Columbia Heights	55421	Anoka County	Columbia Heights Public School District	No	No	No	Yes	(763) 528-4605	1,141	59	19.2	72.2%	135 (11.8%)	346 (30.3%)	578 (50.7%)	31 (2.7%)	2 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	48 (4.2%)	15.8	412^th of 473 public high schools	12.9%		20.5	376^th of 450 public high schools	16.4%	36							25.0	25.0			8.7	8.7							9.9	9.9			$14,624
Highland Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1500 49th Ave NE	Columbia Heights	55421	Anoka County	Columbia Heights Public School District	No	No	No	Yes	(763) 528-4405	534	34	15.6	78.3%	82 (15.4%)	123 (23.0%)	273 (51.1%)	26 (4.9%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (5.1%)	8.6	808^th of 869 public elementary schools	7.0%		7.9	810^th of 872 public elementary schools	7.1%	2	18.3	24.1	24.1					22.2	6.4			6.4	24.4	24.7	6.3					18.7	92.3%	0%	$14,593
Valley View Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	800 49th Ave NE	Columbia Heights	55421	Anoka County	Columbia Heights Public School District	No	No	No	Yes	(763) 528-4205	568	36	15.6	79.2%	78 (13.7%)	72 (12.7%)	377 (66.4%)	12 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (5.1%)	6.4	825^th of 869 public elementary schools	5.1%		4.8	839^th of 872 public elementary schools	3.8%	14	17.0	16.7	22.0					18.5	8.6			8.6	13.6	15.6	8.6					12.7	≥ 98%	0%	$13,873
Anchor	Public	9-12	1400 49th Ave NE	Columbia Heights	55421	Anoka County	Columbia Heights Public School District	No	No	No	No	(763) 528-4540	11	0	12.2	72.7%	3 (27.3%)	1 (9.1%)	7 (63.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)																							$13,337
Columbia Academy Anchor Program	Public	6-8	900 49th Ave NE	Columbia Heights	55421	Anoka County	Columbia Heights Public School District	No	No	No	No	(763) 528-4540	6	0	4.0	—	2 (33.3%)	4 (66.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)																							$37,560
Columbia Heights Transition Program	Public	9-12	1400 49th Ave NE	Columbia Heights	55421	Anoka County	Columbia Heights Public School District	No	No	No	No	(763) 528-4540	11	1	11.0	72.7%	2 (18.2%)	2 (18.2%)	7 (63.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)																							$13,642
Virtual Heights Secondary	Public, Virtual	6-12	1440 49th Ave NE	Columbia Heights	55421	Anoka County	Columbia Heights Public School District	No	No	Yes	No	(763) 528-4533	19	0	48.0	78.9%	3 (15.8%)	8 (42.1%)	6 (31.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (10.5%)								(n/a)

Cities Near Zip Code 55421

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Columbia Heights	0.37 mi	15	431^st
New Brighton	1.03 mi	9	221^st
Fridley	1.26 mi	16	409^th
Minneapolis	1.55 mi	163	386^th
Saint Anthony	2 mi	6	67^th

See the top MN Minnesota cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Minnesota Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.