Best Public Schools in Zip Code 55902

ZIP code 55902 in Rochester, Minnesota contains six schools — three elementary and three high schools (the high-school count includes Rochester Math & Science Secondary, which serves grades 7–12, Rochester Beacon Academy, which serves grades 6–12, and Project Search Mayo Clinic, which serves grade 12 only) — enrolling 1,626 students total, with no standalone middle school. Three schools are part of Rochester Public School District (Bamber Valley Elementary School, Folwell Elementary School, and Project Search Mayo Clinic), two belong to Rochester Math and Science Academy (Rochester Math & Science Elementary and Rochester Math & Science Secondary), and Rochester Beacon Academy is its own single-school charter district.

Performance varies sharply across the ZIP. Folwell Elementary is the clear standout: it ranks 30th out of 869 elementary schools (97th percentile, 5 stars) with math at 76.0%, reading at 75.4%, and science at 46.4% — all well above state rates of 44.9%, 48.6%, and 25.5%. Bamber Valley is a steady high performer at 224th of 869 (74th percentile, 4 stars), with math at 65.1%, reading at 56.4%, and science at 30.0%. At the other end, Rochester Math & Science Elementary ranks 631st of 869 (27th percentile, 1 star), with math at 39.6%, reading at 32.9%, and science at 12.5%, while Beacon ranks 326th of 473 (31st percentile, 2 stars) with math at 14.0% and reading at 31.1%.

Rochester Math & Science Secondary is a mixed picture: 100.0% graduation and 0.0% dropout versus the state's 84.9% and 4.2%, and math at 48.5% (above the state's 44.9%), but reading at 43.5% and science at 0.0%. Beacon graduates 60.0% with a reported 0.0% dropout rate. Science is a weak spot for most schools here — only Folwell and Bamber Valley clearly exceed the state's 25.5%. Free/reduced lunch rates range widely, from 15.91% at Folwell and 21.04% at Bamber Valley up to 88.26% at Rochester Math & Science Secondary and 93.17% at Rochester Math & Science Elementary. Project Search Mayo Clinic, with just 8 students and no reported test, rank, or lunch data, is a specialized grade-12 program and isn't comparable to the others.