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Best Public Schools in Zip Code 56172

At a glance

Schools

721

Students

5-star school

Top rankedWest Elementary75^th of 872 Minnesota elementary schools

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Biggest riser

West Elementary up 108 spots statewide this year

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Summary:

The 56172 zip code area is home to two schools - West Elementary and Murray County Central High School, both part of the Murray County Central Schools district. While West Elementary stands out as a high-performing school, the high school's performance is more average compared to state and district benchmarks.

West Elementary is a standout school, ranking in the top 20% of Minnesota elementary schools and earning a 5-star rating from SchoolDigger. The school's math and reading proficiency rates consistently exceed the district and state averages across all grade levels, with 72.2% and 66.83% of students scoring proficient or better, respectively. In contrast, Murray County Central High School has more average performance, with proficiency rates of 38.75% in math and 52.29% in reading.

The data suggests that socioeconomic factors may play a role in the performance gap, as West Elementary has a lower free/reduced lunch rate of 42.46% compared to 35.48% at Murray County Central High School. Additionally, the high school's rankings have declined in recent years, going from 35th in the state in 2022-2023 to 130th in 2024-2025, indicating a concerning trend that warrants further investigation.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				MCA-III Math (2025)								MCA-III Reading (2025)								Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	MCA-III Math 3rd Grade	MCA-III Math 4th Grade	MCA-III Math 5th Grade	MCA-III Math 6th Grade	MCA-III Math 7th Grade	MCA-III Math 8th Grade	MCA-III Math 11th Grade	MCA-III Math All Grades	MCA-III Reading 3rd Grade	MCA-III Reading 4th Grade	MCA-III Reading 5th Grade	MCA-III Reading 6th Grade	MCA-III Reading 7th Grade	MCA-III Reading 8th Grade	MCA-III Reading 10th Grade	MCA-III Reading All Grades	Total
West Elementary	Public	2-6	2640 Forest Ave	Slayton	56172	Murray County	Murray County Central Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(507) 836-6450	256	27	9.3	42.2%	216 (84.4%)	6 (2.3%)	28 (10.9%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.6%)	86.9	75^th of 872 public elementary schools	91.4%		76.2	183^rd of 881 public elementary schools	79.2%	108	81.6	78.6	68.8	59.6				72.2	73.5	64.3	58.3	71.2				66.8	$11,510
Murray County Central High School	Public	7-12	2420 28th St	Slayton	56172	Murray County	Murray County Central Schools	No	No	No	No	(507) 836-6184	328	18	18.0	27.4%	302 (92.1%)	2 (0.6%)	13 (4.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (2.4%)	71.3	130^th of 450 public high schools	71.1%		86.1	44^th of 480 public high schools	90.8%	86					46.3	30.0	39.3	38.8					50.9	52.0	54.2	52.3	$13,387
Murray County Central Elementary	Public	PK, KG-1	2420 28th St	Slayton	56172	Murray County	Murray County Central Schools	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(507) 836-6450	137	0		43.8%	123 (89.8%)	2 (1.5%)	11 (8.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)
Out-of-State Care and Treatment	Public, Alternative	K-12	2420 28th St	Slayton	56172	Murray County	Murray County Central Schools	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(507) 836-6184	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)

Cities Near Zip Code 56172

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Slayton	0.09 mi	4	68^th
Fulda	10.79 mi	2	294^th
Westbrook	16.91 mi	1	276^th
Tracy	17.87 mi	4	229^th
Edgerton	19.91 mi	2	265^th

See the top MN Minnesota cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Minnesota Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.