Schools in Zip Code 56585

ZIP code 56585, covering Ulen in northwestern Minnesota, is home to two public schools — Ulen-Hitterdal Elementary (grades K–6, 144 students) and Ulen-Hitterdal Secondary (grades 7–12, 158 students) — both part of the Ulen-Hitterdal Public School District and located at the same address on NW 2nd St in Ulen. Because the secondary school spans grades 7–12, there is no separate middle school. The district overall ranks 201 of 458 in Minnesota (56th percentile, 3 stars), but that single rating blends two schools with quite different profiles.

The secondary school is the stronger performer by rank: 113 of 473 (76th percentile, 4 stars), up from the 66th percentile and 3 stars two years earlier, and it gets students across the finish line with a 90.4% graduation rate and a 0.0% dropout rate, both better than the state's 84.9% and 4.2%. The elementary school ranks 404 of 869 (54th percentile, 3 stars), an improvement from the 43rd percentile and 2 stars, and reading is its standout: 56.3% proficient overall, above the state's 48.6%, with 3rd-grade reading at 63.6% (state 46.8%) and 3rd-grade math at 68.2% (state 57.9%).

Each school has clear weak spots. Secondary all-grade reading is 32.4%, well below the state's 48.6%, pulled down by 7th-grade reading at 22.7% and 8th-grade reading at 28.6%; 8th-grade science is 3.6% against a state figure of 16.7%. Elementary math falls sharply after 3rd grade — 52.2% in 4th, 25.0% in 5th, and 15.8% in 6th — and both schools trail the state in all-grade science. Notably, the elementary school serves a higher share of students eligible for free or reduced lunch (44.44% vs. 32.91%) while posting the stronger reading results, and it has the smaller student–teacher ratio (10.6 vs. 12.7).