Summary:
Zip code 56735 is served by two schools, both in the Lancaster Public School District: Lancaster Elementary (PK–6, 122 students) and Lancaster Secondary (grades 7–12, 86 students), for a total of 208 students. There is no separate middle school or alternative school, so students move from the elementary straight into the secondary building. The district overall ranks 354th of 458 Minnesota districts — the 23rd percentile — with a 1-star rating.
Lancaster Elementary is the stronger of the two schools and the relative bright spot in the district. In 2025–2026 it beat district averages in all three tested subjects — math 35.6% vs 27.7%, reading 44.1% vs 37.2%, and science 22.2% vs 17.5% — and 4th grade reading (50%) came in above the state's 48.8%. Still, it trails state averages in every all-grade subject, and its rank slipped to 31st percentile with 2 stars after a 53rd percentile, 3-star year in 2024–2025. Notably, it posts these results with a higher free/reduced lunch rate (63.93%) than the secondary school (50%).
Lancaster Secondary has a mixed profile. Its graduation rate of 88.8% is above the state's 84.9%, but its dropout rate of 5.5% is also above the state's 4.2%. Test proficiency sits well below state levels in math (14.3%), reading (25.7%), and science (13.6%), and its rank has declined steadily for three years, from 52nd percentile and 3 stars down to 27th percentile and 1 star. Several grade-level results were reported at 0% — 11th grade math, 8th grade math, and 8th grade science — exact zeros that may reflect very few tested students in a small school. Most measures at both schools declined from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026; a few values, like 3rd grade math and reading at the elementary, were suppressed by the state and are simply unknown.
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