Best Public Schools in Zip Code 55706

Zip code 55706 covers Babbitt, Minnesota, where two public schools serve a combined 209 students: Babbitt Elementary, which serves grades PK–6 with 95 students, and Northeast Range Secondary, which serves grades 7–12 with 114 students. Both are in the St. Louis County School District, ranked 323 of 458 in Minnesota (29th percentile, 1 star), and both sit at the same address on South Drive. No middle or alternative schools are listed in the area.

Babbitt Elementary has the stronger academic profile of the two, with all-grade proficiency of 30.9% in Math, 38.9% in Reading, and 43.8% in Science. Science is the clear standout — far above the district's 17.1% and the state's 25.5% — and 5th-grade Science also sits at 43.8%. Third-grade Math reaches 63.6%, above both district (62.1%) and state (57.9%). Its 2025–2026 rank is 572 of 869 (34th percentile, 2 stars), an improvement from 26th percentile and 1 star the prior year. Notably, it reports a higher free/reduced lunch rate (62.11%) than the secondary school yet outperforms it in every all-grade subject, and it has the lower student-teacher ratio (9.8 vs 11.1). Math and Reading overall still trail state levels, and several upper-elementary grade scores fall below district and state averages.

Northeast Range Secondary stands out for completion rather than proficiency: a 100.0% graduation rate and 0.0% dropout rate, both better than district (93.2% and 3.3%) and state (84.9% and 4.2%). Test results are much lower — Math 22.9%, Reading 21.9%, Science 13.9% — all below district and state, with Reading the largest gap. 7th-grade Reading is reported at 0%, and the state suppressed the 10th-grade Reading score, so it is unknown rather than a zero. Bright spots include 11th-grade Math at 25% and 7th-grade Math at 27.3%, both above district. Its rank is 349 of 473 (26th percentile, 1 star). Year over year, Math rose 14.2 points and Science 13.9 points, while Reading fell 6.31 points. Because both schools are small, grade-level results and rates can swing widely, and the 100% graduation figure should be read with that small cohort in mind.