Summary:
ZIP code 56311 in Barrett, Minnesota is home to two schools — WCA Middle School (grades 5–8, 232 students) and West Central Area Secondary (grades 9–12, 229 students) — both in the West Central Area district, sharing the same address and together serving 461 students. There are no elementary or alternative schools in this ZIP code. The district ranks 68 of 458 in Minnesota, the 85th percentile with 4 stars, and the two schools report nearly identical economic profiles, with free/reduced lunch at 34.91% at the middle school and 34.5% at the high school.
WCA Middle School is the stronger of the two in reading and is clearly improving. In 2025–2026, all-grades reading proficiency is 55.3% versus 48.6% statewide, with every tested grade from 5th through 8th above the state average, and 8th-grade math is a bright spot at 53.1% versus 42.3% statewide. The school's rank jumped from 320 of 519 (38th percentile, 2 stars) in 2024–2025 to 151 of 546 (72nd percentile, 4 stars) in 2025–2026, with math up 10.34 points and reading up 10.86 points. Science is its urgent weakness: 13.2% proficient against 25.5% statewide, with 8th grade at 10.2% versus 16.7%.
West Central Area Secondary shows the opposite pattern. Science is its standout at 47.7% proficient in 2025–2026 versus 25.5% statewide, and 91.2% of students graduate (state 84.9%) with a 3.5% dropout rate (state 4.2%). Math, however, has been persistently low — 25.5% versus 44.9% statewide, and 25.0% the year before. Reading fell sharply from 78.0% in 2024–2025 to 31.8% in 2025–2026; because those years are labeled MCA-III and MCA-IV respectively, the comparison should be treated cautiously. The high school's rank slipped from 109 of 450 (76th percentile, 4 stars) to 228 of 473 (52nd percentile, 3 stars), and its student/teacher ratio is 12.5 versus 15.2 at the middle school.
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