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Best Public Schools in Zip Code 56265

New rankings! SchoolDigger recently updated its Minnesota rankings with newly released test scores for the 2025-26 school year.

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At a glance

Schools

1,438

Students

Districts

Top rankedMontevideo Senior High244^th of 473 Minnesota high schools

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Biggest riser

Sanford Elementary School up 43 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Ramsey Elementary 12.8 students per teacher

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Summary:

ZIP 56265 covers Montevideo, Minnesota and nearby alternative programs, with six schools serving students from kindergarten through 12th grade across three districts. Four schools are in Montevideo Public School District: Montevideo Senior High (9–12), Montevideo Middle (5–8), Sanford Elementary School (1–4), and Ramsey Elementary (K–2). Two alternative programs are in MN River Valley Education District and Region 6 and 8-SW/Wc Service Coop: MN River Valley Alternative Learning Center-Seatbased (7–12) and SWWC ELC - Montevideo (K–12).

Among the traditional district schools, Montevideo Senior High has the strongest graduation profile: 93.1% graduation rate vs state 84.9%, and 3.4% dropout rate vs state 4.2%. Its 11th-grade math is above state, but 10th-grade reading is only 30.5% vs state 42.5%, and its rank fell from 4 stars to 2 stars in two years. Sanford Elementary School is the academic bright spot, with all-grade reading 49.1% and math 47.6%, both above the district and reading slightly above state; 4th-grade reading is 55.7% vs state 48.8%. Still, its 3rd- and 4th-grade math are below state. Montevideo Middle has a standout 5th-grade reading result at 56.3% vs state 54.5%, but math and science lag; 6th-grade math is 22.3% vs state 39.5%. Ramsey Elementary has no current MCA scores because it serves K–2.

The two alternative programs have much lower outcomes. MN River Valley Alternative Learning Center-Seatbased reports 52.9% graduation, 15.6% dropout, and 2025–26 proficiency of 6.7% math, 9.1% reading, and 9.1% science; many grade-level results are not reported. SWWC ELC - Montevideo reports 0% math, 12.5% reading, and 10% science in 2025–26, with many scores also not reported. Both have the highest free/reduced lunch rates in the ZIP code — 65.71% and 76.67% — and the lowest student-teacher ratios, 10.1 and 5.1. Across the ZIP, Montevideo Public School District trails Minnesota in 2025–26 math (37.0% vs 44.9%), reading (43.9% vs 48.6%), and science (24.3% vs 25.5%). Science is closest to state; math has the largest gap. Parents should treat not-reported scores as unknown, not as zeros, when comparing these schools.

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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 (2026)				Ranking (2025)				MCA-IV Reading (2026)								MCA-IV Science (2026)				MCA-III Math (2026)								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 (2025)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	MCA-IV Reading 3rd Grade	MCA-IV Reading 4th Grade	MCA-IV Reading 5th Grade	MCA-IV Reading 6th Grade	MCA-IV Reading 7th Grade	MCA-IV Reading 8th Grade	MCA-IV Reading 10th Grade	MCA-IV Reading All Grades	MCA-IV Science 5th Grade	MCA-IV Science 8th Grade	MCA-IV Science End of Course	MCA-IV Science All Grades	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	Total
MN River Valley Alternative Learning Center-Seatbased	Public	7-12	1313 E Black Oak Ave	Montevideo	56265	Chippewa County	MN River Valley Education District	No	No	No	No	(320) 269-7131	70	7	10.1	65.7%	35 (50.0%)	1 (1.4%)	19 (27.1%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (15.7%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (5.7%)								(n/a)								9.1				9.1								6.7
MN River Valley Educational-Online Learning	Public	9-12	1315 E Black Oak Avenue	Montevideo	56265	Chippewa County	MN River Valley Education District	No	No	No	No	(320) 269-9297	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
SWWC ELC - Montevideo	Public, Alternative	K-12	2419 Washington Ave	Montevideo	56265	Chippewa County	Region 6 and 8-SW/Wc Service Coop	No	No	No	No	(507) 537-2258	30	6	5.1	76.7%	19 (63.3%)	1 (3.3%)	5 (16.7%)	1 (3.3%)	1 (3.3%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (10.0%)								(n/a)								12.5				10.0								0.0
Montevideo Middle	Public	5-8	2001 William Ave	Montevideo	56265	Chippewa County	Montevideo Public School District	No	No	No	Yes	(320) 269-6431	393	24	16.3	53.9%	267 (67.9%)	4 (1.0%)	99 (25.2%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	5 (1.3%)	16 (4.1%)	44.3	307^th of 546 public middle schools	43.8%		51.5	242^nd of 519 public middle schools	53.4%	65			56.3	40.9	31.6	45.1		44.8	25.2	14.9		20.4			29.7	22.3	32.9	38.2		30.8	$12,071
Montevideo Senior High	Public	9-12	1501 William Ave	Montevideo	56265	Chippewa County	Montevideo Public School District	No	No	No	Yes	(320) 269-6446	408	24	17.2	47.8%	292 (71.6%)	6 (1.5%)	91 (22.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	4 (1.0%)	14 (3.4%)	52	244^th of 473 public high schools	48.4%		67	154^th of 450 public high schools	65.8%	90							30.5	30.5			31.9	31.9							38.9	38.9	$13,562
Ramsey Elementary	Public	K-2	501 Hamilton Ave	Montevideo	56265	Chippewa County	Montevideo Public School District	No	No	No	Yes	(320) 269-6584	260	20	12.8	62.7%	135 (51.9%)	6 (2.3%)	100 (38.5%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.8%)	7 (2.7%)	10 (3.8%)								(n/a)																					$12,147
Sanford Elementary School	Public	1-4	412 S 13th St	Montevideo	56265	Chippewa County	Montevideo Public School District	No	No	No	Yes	(320) 269-6538	277	18	15.3	54.9%	179 (64.6%)	1 (0.4%)	76 (27.4%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.4%)	16 (5.8%)	49.7	464^th of 869 public elementary schools	46.6%		46.5	507^th of 872 public elementary schools	41.9%	43	42.5	55.7						49.1					52.4	43.0						47.6	$19,064

Cities Near Zip Code 56265

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Montevideo	0.25 mi	9	234^th
Granite Falls	12.51 mi	2	378^th
Clara City	16.63 mi	2	297^th
Dawson	16.89 mi	2	285^th
Madison	18.95 mi	3	328^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.