The top reported proficiency rate is 73% in English language arts. The lowest is 56% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Ridgeview Elementary
Ridgeview Elementary sits in the southwestern portion of Bloomington, a large post-World War II suburb of Minneapolis that blends residential neighborhoods with a major commercial and employment base. Bloomington has more jobs per capita than either Minneapolis or Saint Paul, anchored by the Mall of America and corporate headquarters for companies like HealthPartners, Donaldson Company, Toro, and Dairy Queen. The city is car-oriented and connected by four major freeways and the Metro Blue Line light rail, with about a third of its land permanently reserved for parkland including large natural areas. Ridgeview draws from the surrounding neighborhood in a city that lacks a traditional downtown and spreads its school facilities across the city rather than clustering them.
Ridgeview Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public school within the Bloomington Public School District. The enrollment is small relative to many elementary schools. The student body is predominantly white, with Black and two-or-more-races students each making up a notable share, and smaller shares of Hispanic and Asian students. About a quarter of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which is a relatively low share and points to a moderately affluent attendance zone. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the source materials.
On the 2024-25 Minnesota state assessments, Ridgeview posted strong proficiency results that place its overall performance across tested subjects and grades in the top quartile among districts in Hennepin County. In reading, the school shows a clear upward trajectory by grade. Third grade reading proficiency is solid, fourth grade is a touch higher, and fifth grade reading reaches a high level with the large majority of students meeting the standard. In math, third grade performance is strong, fourth grade dips to a softer point where roughly three out of five students are proficient, and fifth grade rebounds to a very strong showing. This pattern of a fourth-grade dip in math combined with otherwise strong results is something a parent may want to ask the school about, though it could reflect a single cohort or a curricular transition. In fifth grade science, just over half of students were proficient, which is a more middling result relative to the school's reading and math performance in other grades.
The district itself offers several pathways that families can consider beyond their neighborhood school. Bloomington Career and College Academy allows high school students to earn college credit from college instructors while still in high school, and it is open to non-resident students through open enrollment. A Computer Science Immersion program, run in partnership with the University of Minnesota, integrates computer science across other subject areas at the elementary and middle school levels. New Code Academy, a fully online K-12 school taught by licensed Bloomington teachers, gives families a permanent remote option open to any Minnesota family.
Ridgeview sits in a housing market where the typical home value is above both the state and national benchmarks, and rents have been rising. The area is a mix of stable single-family homes and some multifamily housing, consistent with a moderately priced suburb close to a major employment center. The school itself does not report chronic absenteeism data, and civil rights data on discipline was not available, so a parent wanting a full picture of school climate and equity may wish to follow up with the school directly. There are no state testing trend lines available, meaning the 2024-25 results represent a single snapshot rather than a multi-year pattern.
For a family looking at this school, Ridgeview offers consistently strong reading outcomes at most grade levels, a math program that is generally strong though with a noticeable dip in one grade, and a student body that is moderately affluent and predominantly white. The surrounding Bloomington community provides extensive parkland, a robust job base, and multiple district-level program options including online learning and early college credit. The fourth-grade math results and the science proficiency rate are the main areas where a parent may want to dig deeper with the school staff.
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