Schools in Zip Code 56284

ZIP code 56284 is home to two public schools — Renville County West Elementary (PK–6, 329 students) and Renville County West Senior High (7–12, 219 students) — both in the Renville County West Schools district, with no separate middle school or alternative school, since grades 7–8 sit inside the high school. The district overall ranks 238 of 458 in Minnesota (48th percentile, 2 stars), but that average hides a sharp split between the two schools.

Renville County West Senior High is the standout. Its latest rank is 111 of 473 (77th percentile, 4 stars), up from 187 of 480 (61st percentile, 3 stars) three years earlier — a 76-position, 16-percentile-point gain. It graduates 91.8% of students versus 84.9% statewide, and its science proficiency of 29.5% beats both the district (23.5%) and the state (25.5%), led by an End of Course Science score of 53.6% against the state's 35% and 10th grade reading of 50% versus 42.5%. Two cautions: reading dropped 5.3 points year over year while the state slipped only 1.0 point, and the dropout rate of 5.4% is above the state's 4.2%.

Renville County West Elementary is on the opposite path: 644 of 869 (26th percentile, 1 star), essentially unchanged from the 26th–28th percentile range three years ago. It trails the state and even its own district in math, reading and science, with science at 14.6% versus 23.5% district and 25.5% state. Its best relative results are 3rd grade math (56.5% vs. 57.9%) and 6th grade reading (46.3% vs. 53.4%), while 5th grade math (17.1% vs. 41.9%) and 4th grade reading (26.8% vs. 48.8%) are much weaker. The gap between the two schools has widened from 33 to 51 percentile points. Notably, the elementary school has the smaller student/teacher ratio (12.2 vs. 15.8) and a similar free/reduced-lunch share (45.59% vs. 43.84%), so those factors alone do not explain the difference.