Best Public Schools in Zip Code 56013

ZIP code 56013 covers Blue Earth, Minnesota, where three public schools serve students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade: Blue Earth Area Elementary (PK–5, 515 students), Blue Earth Area Middle (6–7, 163 students), and Blue Earth Area Secondary (8–12, 378 students). All three belong to the Blue Earth Area School District, which enrolls 1,056 students across these schools and is rated 220 of 458 in Minnesota — the 52nd percentile, with 3 stars. No alternative schools operate in this ZIP.

Blue Earth Area Secondary is the standout. It climbed from the 49th percentile and 2 stars to the 70th percentile and 4 stars in two years, and its outcomes are strong: a 93.3% graduation rate versus 84.9% statewide, a 1.3% dropout rate versus 4.2%, and 55.4% proficiency in End of Course science versus 35.0% statewide. Its all-grade math (34.6%) and reading (40.7%) still trail state averages. Blue Earth Area Elementary posts math (46.4%) and reading (49.2%) slightly above state, with 3rd-grade math at 72.1%, but 5th grade falls well below state in math, reading and science, and all-grade science is just 15.1%.

Blue Earth Area Middle is the clearest concern: 379 of 546, the 31st percentile, 2 stars, with math at 24.1% and reading at 36.9% — far below state. Across the ZIP, strengths in early elementary grades fade by 5th grade and stay below state through middle and high school in math and reading. Free/reduced lunch is about 50% at all three schools, and staffing ratios don't track results: the middle school has the lowest student-teacher ratio (11.4) but the weakest outcomes, while the secondary school has the highest (17.5) and the strongest rank and graduation numbers.