Summary:
Zip code 56738 is home to exactly one high school — Marshall County Central High in Newfolden, MN — a grades 7–12 school of 215 students in Marshall County Central Schools, with a student/teacher ratio of 13.3 and 35.81% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch. Because it is the only school in the area, it is both the default standout and the only option for local families, so it is worth looking at closely.
The school's clearest strengths are its completion outcomes and its science results. In 2024–2025 it reported a 100% graduation rate and a 0% dropout rate, compared with 84.9% and 4.2% statewide. Science is its most competitive subject: All Grades science was 25.4% versus the state's 25.5%, and End-of-Course science was 37.9% versus 35.0%. Tenth-grade reading also edged above the state at 43.3% versus 42.5%. Statewide, the school ranks 207 of 473 schools — the 56th percentile with 3 stars in 2025–2026, and its district ranks 226 of 458 (51st percentile, 3 stars). That is still above the state median, though it has slipped from the 64th percentile in 2023–2024.
The main concerns are math and reading proficiency. Math is below the state at every reported grade level, from 9.0 points below in 11th grade to 28.0 points below in 8th grade, with All Grades math at 21.2% versus the state's 44.9%. Reading fell sharply, from 55.08% in 2024–2025 to 34.0% in 2025–2026 — about 21 percentage points — and is now below both district and state; 7th-grade reading was 16.1% versus 43.5% statewide. With only 215 students in grades 7–12, individual cohorts are small, so a few students can swing a rate by several points and year-to-year changes should be read with caution.
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