Dassel-cokato Middle, Cokato MN - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Dassel-cokato Middle

Dassel-Cokato Middle School serves fifth through eighth graders in Cokato, a small city in Wright County, as part of the Dassel-Cokato Public Schools district. It is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and its enrollment of about that size for a four-grade band is almost entirely White, with a much smaller share of students who are Hispanic, Black, or of two or more races. Roughly one in three students qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, a measure of low-income status, placing the school within a modest middle-income context. No data was available for the share of students with individualized education programs or English learner status, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those support structures.

On the Minnesota state assessments for the most recent school year, Dassel-Cokato Middle posted results that sit above the midpoint among districts in Wright County when averaged across tested subjects and grades. In reading, proficiency rates varied by grade, with a majority of students meeting standards in each level and a notably high rate in sixth grade. Math proficiency was also majority-level across all four grades, with eighth graders reaching a particularly strong mark. Science results were lower, with roughly one in three fifth graders and one in three eighth graders scoring proficient, which is a soft spot a family might want to investigate further.

Because this is a middle school, there is no graduation rate to report, and chronic absenteeism figures were not available in the data provided. The school's program offerings were also not detailed in the source material, so a parent should check the school or district website for specifics on electives, activities, and any advanced or support courses.

The community around the school is Cokato, a city with agricultural roots and a strong Scandinavian and Finnish heritage, founded as a railroad stop. Its downtown runs along Broadway Avenue, where City Hall, the library, and a local history museum are located. The city has a modest commercial core and a system of parks, trails, a community pool, a performing arts center, and an outdoor ice rink, with the annual Cokato Corn Carnival held in Peterson Park near the elementary school. Street life is typical of a small town rather than a dense urban environment. Housing values in the area have been rising modestly, mirroring broader trends, and the city's population has been stable with little new development noted in available sources. There is no mention of local public transit.

The district, Dassel-Cokato Public Schools, spans both Cokato and the neighboring city of Dassel, with the high school and other facilities serving a wider catchment area. Publicly reported information did not turn up any recent significant changes or strategic priorities for the district, so the context is one of general stability rather than transformation. For a family considering this school, the picture is of a solidly performing middle school in a small, rooted community, with academic strengths in core subjects and a weaker spot in science that warrants a closer look. The student body is predominantly White and relatively homogenous, and the school's size is typical for a rural-suburban intermediate school in this part of Minnesota.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 554%

School 54% · District 54%

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 654%

School 54% · District 54%

▲ 26 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

Grade 755%

School 55% · District 55%

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

Grade 873%

School 73% · District 73%

▲ 47 pts above state median · ▲ 36 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 562%

School 62% · District 62%

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

Grade 675%

School 75% · District 75%

▲ 29 pts above state median · ▲ 26 pts above county median

Grade 763%

School 63% · District 63%

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Grade 865%

School 65% · District 65%

▲ 29 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Science

Grade 531%

School 31% · District 31%

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 834%

School 34% · District 34%

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

This schoolDassel-Cokato Public Schools, 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 5Lower-income45%Higher-income71%27 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income76%Higher-income74%2 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income57%Higher-income66%9 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income65%Higher-income65%0 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income30%Higher-income65%35 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income49%Higher-income56%7 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income35%Higher-income65%30 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income61%Higher-income77%17 pp gap