The top reported proficiency rate is 82% in English language arts. The lowest is 18% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Ivanhoe Public School District
Ivanhoe Public School District serves a small rural community in Lincoln County, Minnesota, and is a PK through 6 district. Because it does not serve high school grades, there is no graduation rate to report. Students in grades 7 through 12 attend the Minneota Public School District, a neighboring district that receives Ivanhoe’s older students under a longstanding sending arrangement. This is a very small district, with an enrollment that matches its grade band.
The student body is predominantly white, with a small Hispanic population. Data on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch was not available, nor were counts of students with disabilities or English learners. A parent may want to ask the district directly about these support categories.
State testing results are available for the 2024-25 school year, though many grade-level results are suppressed due to very small tested populations. The state suppresses results when the number of students tested is too small to report reliably, which is common in a district of this size. For the grade levels where results are reported, the picture is mixed. In fifth grade, the only grade with a reported math proficiency rate, a majority of students scored proficient. In reading, fifth graders posted a strong proficiency rate. In science, the same cohort of fifth graders showed a low proficiency rate. Because the science assessment changed in 2024-25, direct comparison with prior years is not possible. A parent may want to ask the school for more context on science instruction and how the new test compares.
The district’s overall proficiency index, which averages results across tested subjects and grades, sits above the midpoint among Lincoln County’s districts. That is a solid position for a small elementary district. Chronic absenteeism is very low, placing the district in the top quartile among its county peers, which suggests strong daily attendance patterns.
Per-pupil current spending falls in the middle range, upper half of the county’s districts. That is a reasonable spending level for a small district that must maintain a building and staff for a limited enrollment.
The student body is almost entirely white, with a small Hispanic population. The district serves only PK through 6, and its single school is Lincoln Elementary in Ivanhoe. For grades 7 through 12, families send their children to the Minneota Public School District. This arrangement is common in rural Minnesota, where small elementary districts consolidate secondary students into a neighboring district. A parent considering Ivanhoe should factor in the transition to Minneota for middle and high school.
Housing in the area is affordable relative to state and national benchmarks. Home values in the zip codes that feed into the district vary, with some communities showing higher values than others, but overall the market is accessible. The district’s weighted home value is well below the state median, and the estimated monthly mortgage payment on a typical home is modest. This is a low-cost area for families.
The district’s chronic absenteeism rate is the lowest among Lincoln County’s districts, which is a strong indicator of consistent school attendance. The overall proficiency index sits above the midpoint among the county’s three districts, meaning Ivanhoe performs in the upper half of its small peer group.
Because the district is very small and serves only elementary grades, a parent should expect a close-knit school environment where class sizes are small and staff know every student. The trade-off is that students will move to a different district for secondary school, which means a transition to a new peer group and a new building. Families who value a small, rural elementary experience with strong attendance and solid math and reading results in the middle grades may find this district a good fit. Those who want a single K-12 pathway or a wider range of course offerings will need to look at the receiving district in Minneota.
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