Summary:
ZIP code 56159 covers Mountain Lake, Minnesota, and has two public schools serving PK–12: Mountain Lake Elementary for PK–6 with 257 students and Mountain Lake Secondary for grades 7–12 with 241 students, both in Mountain Lake Public Schools, for 498 students combined.
The secondary school is the standout. It ranks 78 of 473, at the 84th percentile with 4 stars, up from 224 of 480, 53rd percentile, 3 stars in 2023–2024, and 163 of 450, 64th percentile, 3 stars in 2024–2025. Its graduation rate is 95.3% vs. the state’s 84.9%, and its dropout rate is 2.3% vs. 4.2%, even though 56.02% of students receive free/reduced lunch. Grade-level highlights include 11th-grade math at 55.2% vs. 35.3% statewide, 10th-grade reading at 47.6% vs. 42.5%, and Science End of Course at 42.9% vs. 35.0%. Still, all-grade 2025–2026 proficiency remains slightly below state in math, reading, and science, and 8th-grade science is low at 6.7% vs. 16.7%. The elementary school ranks 519 of 869, at the 40th percentile with 2 stars. Its bright spot is reading: all-grade reading is 49.6%, above the district’s 48.2% and the state’s 48.6%, and 4th-grade reading is 55.2% vs. 48.8%. Science is a major weakness at 10.5% vs. the district’s 20.0% and the state’s 25.5%, and 5th-grade math is 23.7% vs. 41.9%.
The district ranks 168 of 458, at the 63rd percentile with 3 stars, but that average hides two different schools: the secondary school is above average and improving, while the elementary school remains below average overall. Both improved from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026: elementary reading rose from 39.58% to 49.6% and math from 37.24% to 40.0%; secondary reading rose from 34.51% to 46.9%, math from 37.93% to 41.5%, and science from 15.15% to 24.1%. For parents, the main academic concerns are elementary science, elementary 5th-grade math, secondary 8th-grade math at 33.3% vs. 42.3%, and secondary 8th-grade science. Overall, the secondary school offers strong completion outcomes, while the elementary school has real reading strength but needs science and middle-grade math support.
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