Summary:
Zip code 56732 covers Karlstad, Minnesota, and is home to two schools — Karlstad Elementary (PK–6, 96 students) and Tri-County Secondary (7–12, 83 students) — both part of the Tri-County School District, serving 179 students total in a PK–12 setup with no standalone middle school.
The two schools are heading in opposite directions. Tri-County Secondary ranks 70 of 473 Minnesota high schools (85th percentile, 4 stars) in 2025–26, staying near the top 15% of the state, and it posted a 100% graduation rate and 0% dropout rate in 2024–25 against state figures of 84.9% and 4.2%. Its all-grade proficiency beat the state in math (50.0 vs 44.9), reading (53.3 vs 48.6) and science (26.3 vs 25.5). By contrast, Karlstad Elementary slipped from 52nd to 36th to 21st percentile over three years, with its star rating falling from 3 to 1. Its 2025–26 reading proficiency was 34.7 against the state's 48.6, with 3rd grade reading at 21.4 vs 46.8 and 4th grade at 23.1 vs 48.8. Math also trailed at 40.0 vs 44.9.
Reading is where the schools separate most: 53.3 at the secondary level versus 34.7 at the elementary level in 2025–26. The elementary school's 2025–26 science result is suppressed by the state and cannot be evaluated, though its 2024–25 science was 15.38 against the state's 26.15. Notably, the secondary school has a higher free/reduced-lunch rate (51.81% vs 47.92%) yet a lower student-teacher ratio (10.6 vs 14.2). With small enrollment, grade-level percentages rest on few students and can swing widely year to year, so results in both schools should be read with that caution in mind.
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