Olson Elementary, Bloomington MN

Original Research by School Decision on Olson Elementary

Olson Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Bloomington, part of the Bloomington Public School District. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet. Its student body is diverse, with White students making up just under half of the enrollment, followed by Black students, Hispanic students, students who identify as two or more races, and Asian students. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a meaningful level of economic diversity in the building.

On state assessments, Olson’s results vary by grade and subject. In math, proficiency rates were higher in third and fourth grades, with a noticeable dip in fifth grade. In reading, the pattern flipped: fifth grade posted a stronger proficiency rate than third and fourth grades. Science, tested only in fifth grade, showed a low proficiency rate, though it’s worth noting that the state changed the science assessment and cut scores that year, which may complicate comparisons. Overall, when you average proficiency across tested subjects and grades, Olson’s combined performance sits in the top quarter among elementary schools relative to districts across Hennepin County. This is a solid result and places the school above many of its neighboring schools in the wider county, though the range in the county is wide.

The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to consider. Data on chronic absenteeism, staffing ratios, discipline, and course access were not available in this profile. A parent looking to understand those dimensions would need to follow up with the school or district directly.

Bloomington itself is a large, car-oriented suburb of Minneapolis with major commercial anchors, including the Mall of America and a dense cluster of corporate headquarters. It has more jobs per resident than either Minneapolis or St. Paul, and the city’s economy is robust. Housing values in the area sit well above the national median, and rents are high relative to incomes, making this an expensive housing market. However, the city has a large amount of parkland and significant public amenities, including light rail access to downtown Minneapolis.

The district, Bloomington Public Schools, has introduced several options that may appeal to families within and beyond its boundaries. A fully online K-12 school called New Code Academy is taught by district teachers and is open to any Minnesota family, providing a permanent remote option. The Bloomington Career and College Academy lets high school students earn college credit while still in high school, and it is open to non-resident students as well. The district also runs a Computer Science Immersion program in partnership with the University of Minnesota, integrating computer science into other subjects at the elementary and middle school levels. These programs signal the district’s investment in flexible pathways and STEM-focused instruction, though Olson Elementary’s specific participation in them is not detailed here.

For a family considering Olson, the picture is one of a generally well-performing school in an economically strong and amenity-rich suburb, where the district has made notable investments in alternative learning models and career-connected pathways. The school’s academic results are above the middle of the pack for its county, and the broader district offers programs that may interest families looking for both in-person and online options. The main soft spot is the fifth-grade science proficiency figure, which, while influenced by a change in testing, is low enough that a parent may want to ask the school how science instruction is structured and supported in the upper elementary grades.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 353%

School 53% · District 48% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 458%

School 58% · District 46% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

Grade 540%

School 40% · District 35% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 334%

School 34% · District 40% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 442%

School 42% · District 41% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 554%

School 54% · District 50% · ▲ 4 pts above district

even with state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Science

Grade 518%

School 18% · District 25% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

This schoolBLOOMINGTON PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income10%Higher-income47%37 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income23%Higher-income54%31 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income37%Higher-income65%28 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income17%Higher-income72%56 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income33%Higher-income74%41 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income27%Higher-income48%21 pp gap