Summary:
Zip code 56229 in Cottonwood, Minnesota, is served by two public schools — Lakeview Elementary (PK–6, 389 students) and Lakeview Secondary (7–12, 331 students) — both part of the Lakeview School District, which enrolls 720 students combined and ranks 147 of 458 Minnesota districts, at the 68th percentile with 3 stars.
The two schools are moving in opposite directions. Lakeview Elementary ranks 235 of 869 schools in 2025–2026, at the 73rd percentile with 4 stars, up from the 56th percentile and 3 stars two years earlier. Its proficiency is above both district and state in math (63.4% vs 52.4% district and 44.9% state) and reading (56.8% vs 51.0% and 48.6%). Lakeview Secondary has slipped from the 71st percentile and 4 stars to the 49th percentile and 2 stars, with math at 34.7% and reading at 42.9% — below district and state. Science runs the other way: elementary science is 23.1% (below district and state), while secondary science is 26.1% (slightly above), though secondary science fell from 34.62% the prior year.
For families, Lakeview Secondary's strongest results are in completion: a 92.3% graduation rate versus the state's 84.9%, and a 3.8% dropout rate versus 4.2%. Bright spots include 8th-grade reading at 53.6% and 8th-grade science at 21.1% (state 16.7%); weaker areas include 7th-grade math (31.0% vs 40.3%), 7th-grade reading (36.6% vs 43.5%), and End of Course science (30.6% vs 35.0%). Elementary strengths cluster in early grades, with 3rd-grade math at 85.2% and 4th-grade math at 73.4% against state rates of 57.9% and 55.2%. Class sizes are smaller at the elementary level (11.3 students per teacher vs 14.6), and free/reduced lunch rates are similar (31.36% and 29.61%). Likely focus areas: elementary science and 6th-grade reading, plus secondary 7th-grade math and reading and End of Course science.
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