Summary:
ZIP code 56514 is home to a single elementary school — Barnesville Elementary School — which serves students in prekindergarten through 6th grade and enrolls about 490 children in Barnesville, Minnesota, as part of the Barnesville Public School District. It is a 4-star school, ranked 201st out of 869 Minnesota elementary schools in 2025–2026, placing it in the top quartile (77th percentile). It has earned 4 stars and stayed in the top quartile in each of the last three school years.
Math and reading are the school's clear strengths. In 2025–2026, 62.1% of students were proficient in math (compared with 44.9% statewide) and 66.1% in reading (compared with 48.6% statewide) — each roughly 17 points above the state. Reading is especially strong in 3rd grade (75.3% vs. 46.8% state), and every grade from 3 through 6 beats the state in reading. Math, however, declines sharply by grade: 90.5% in 3rd grade, 71.6% in 4th, 49.3% in 5th, and 37.8% in 6th — just under the state's 39.5% for 6th grade. The strong all-grade math figure is heavily supported by the very high 3rd grade result.
Science is the relative weak spot: 20.0% proficiency in 2025–2026 versus 25.5% statewide (and 24.32% vs. 26.15% the year before), although the school still outperforms its district in that subject. Year over year, reading improved slightly, math slipped slightly, and science declined more noticeably, and the school's percentile rank eased from 84th to 77th — still strong. For context, the school reports a 21.43% free/reduced lunch rate and a 14.6:1 student-teacher ratio. The Barnesville Public School District is also rated 4 stars, ranked 136th of 458 districts.
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