Summary:
ZIP code 55604 in Grand Marais, Minnesota is home to four schools serving 588 students across two districts — two elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school, with no alternative schools. Three of them — Sawtooth Mountain Elementary, Cook County Middle, and Cook County Senior High — belong to Cook County Public Schools and share a campus at 101 W 5th St, while Great Expectations serves grades K–8 as its own single-school district. State benchmarks are 44.9% in math, 48.6% in reading, and 25.5% in science.
Cook County Senior High is the top performer, ranking 21 of 473 schools (96th percentile, 5 stars), up sharply from the 63rd percentile in each of the prior two years. It beats the state in math (47.4%), reading (61.5%), and science (54.3%), and graduates 89.5% of students versus 84.9% statewide — though its 6.2% dropout rate is above the state's 4.2%. Great Expectations is the strongest K–8 option: 83rd percentile with 4 stars, reading proficiency of 72.3% (nearly 24 points above state), the lowest free/reduced lunch rate (26.55%), and the lowest student–teacher ratio (9.3). Its Great Expectations district ranks 46 of 458 (90th percentile, 5 stars).
Sawtooth Mountain Elementary ranks in the 28th percentile with 1 star and trails the state in all subjects (math 29.4%, reading 41.7%, science 21.4%), but improved in each. Cook County Middle is the weakest: 21st percentile, 1 star, with math at 15.9%, reading at 34.5%, and science at just 4.5% — 21 points below state. That leaves the Cook County Public Schools district at 2 stars and the 49th percentile despite its high school's strength. Because enrollments are small (95–203 students), single-grade results should be read cautiously.
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