Summary:
ZIP code 56278 in Ortonville, Minnesota contains exactly one high school — Ortonville Secondary, a grades 7–12 school with 228 students in Ortonville Public Schools — so all observations below describe this single school rather than a comparison among local peers.
The clearest strength is how students finish school. Ortonville Secondary posted a 97.1% graduation rate in 2024–2025, well above the statewide 84.9%, and a 0.0% dropout rate versus 4.2% statewide. The school also had a bright spot in 11th-grade math, where 44.4% of students were proficient compared with 35.3% statewide, the one grade-level subject where it clearly outpaced the state. Test proficiency overall is a different story: in 2025–2026, all-grade results trailed the state in math (36.9% vs. 44.9%), reading (41.9% vs. 48.6%), and science (19.8% vs. 25.5%). Science at 8th grade was especially low at 5.4% proficient against the state’s 16.7%. Reading also fell notably year over year, from 50% to 41.9%, after being slightly above the state average the prior year, and science slipped from 25.42% to 19.8%. Math was steadier but remained about 8 points below state.
School rankings have swung: 193 of 473 (3 stars) in 2025–2026, 57 of 450 (4 stars) in 2024–2025, and 193 of 480 (3 stars) in 2023–2024, while the district holds 4 stars and ranks 135 of 458 districts. Context: a 12:1 student-teacher ratio and 33.77% free/reduced lunch. In short, strong completion outcomes and an 11th-grade math gain, with below-state proficiency elsewhere and science and recent reading declines as the areas to watch.
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