Schools in Zip Code 56180

ZIP code 56180 is served by a single school, Walnut Grove Elementary, an elementary school in Walnut Grove, Minnesota that serves grades PK–6 with 299 students and belongs to Westbrook-Walnut Grove Schools. Because it is the only school in the area, there are no school-to-school comparisons to make; the most useful benchmarks are the district, the state of Minnesota, and the school's own year-over-year results. The district itself ranks 231st of 458 in Minnesota, which is the 50th percentile, with 2 stars.

Math is the school's clearest strength. In 2025–2026, 53.3% of students were proficient in math at all grades, which is 8.4 percentage points above the state's 44.9% and above the district's 48.0%. Fifth-grade math stands out sharply at 60.0% proficient against 41.9% statewide, a gap of 18.1 points; 6th grade is also above the state at 46.3% versus 39.5%, and 4th grade is essentially at the state average. Third grade is the only grade below the state in math. Math did slip from 56.34% in 2024–2025, but from a high enough starting point that it stayed above state averages both years.

Reading is the main area of concern. At all grades in 2025–2026, reading proficiency was 40.7%, which is 7.9 points below the state's 48.6%, and every reported grade fell short of the state — with the largest gaps in 6th grade (−14.4 points) and 5th grade (−11.2 points). Reading also dropped 7.19 points from the prior year, when it had been only 1.70 points below the state. Science was 23.3%, below the state's 25.5% but above the district's 21.7%, and is reported only for 5th grade. The school's rank moved from 360th of 872 (59th percentile, 3 stars) in 2024–2025 to 451st of 869 (48th percentile, 2 stars) in 2025–2026, a decline that lines up with the weaker reading results. Roughly half the student body (50.5%) qualifies for free/reduced lunch, and the student-teacher ratio is 12.4.