Cornelia Elementary, Edina MN - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Cornelia Elementary

Cornelia Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Edina, a first-ring suburb southwest of Minneapolis. The school is part of the Edina Public School District. Edina is a primarily residential, car-dependent community with a mature housing stock and a high-cost real estate market, bisected by major highways and organized around commercial nodes such as the 50th & France district rather than a single downtown. The city is nearly built out, with slow population growth and limited land for new development, meaning the school’s attendance area is a stable, established suburban neighborhood.

The school enrolls a student body that reflects a mix of racial and economic backgrounds. The largest share of students are white, with Asian students making up the next most represented group, followed by Black and Hispanic students, and a smaller number of students who identify as two or more races. About a quarter of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a measure of lower household income, though the rate is modest in the context of the district.

On state assessments administered in the most recent school year, Cornelia’s students posted results that place the school in the top quartile among elementary schools in Hennepin County. In math, about two-thirds of third graders met the state’s proficiency standard, three-quarters of fourth graders did, and just under three-fifths of fifth graders did. In reading, just over half of third graders were proficient, about two-thirds of fourth graders, and nearly three-quarters of fifth graders. Fifth graders also take a science test, where about a third of students scored proficient. These are one-year snapshots; multi-year trend data was not available, so it is not possible to say whether performance is improving or declining.

The district has made several recent changes that affect families at Cornelia. Starting in the 2024-25 school year, the elementary school day was extended by about half an hour, with an earlier start time and a later dismissal, adding roughly the equivalent of a few extra weeks of instruction per year. That additional time is dedicated to science, social studies, and intervention or enrichment. The district also approved budget reductions for that same school year, citing the expiration of federal pandemic relief funds and ongoing enrollment decline. Staffing cuts have occurred across multiple schools and departments, which could affect class sizes and program availability. The district’s property tax levy was increased, raising the school portion of taxes for a median-value home.

No discipline data, attendance data, or information on special education or English learner populations was reported in the available records, so a parent who wants to understand student support systems, chronic absenteeism, or school climate would need to ask the school or district directly. Programs such as gifted services, arts, or enrichment are also not detailed in the data.

For a family considering this school, the picture is of a well-performing elementary in a stable, high-cost suburban community with a modest level of economic diversity among its families. The district is adjusting to enrollment decline and budget constraints, and the extended school day is a permanent structural change. The school’s academic results on state tests are strong in a countywide context, though fifth-grade science scores are lower than the school’s reading and math results. The data does not offer insight into how the school serves students who need extra support or how discipline is handled, so those remain open questions for prospective parents.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 366%

School 66% · District 82% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Grade 474%

School 74% · District 81% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 31 pts above county median

Grade 559%

School 59% · District 65% · ▼ 6 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 358%

School 58% · District 69% · ▼ 11 pts below district

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

Grade 466%

School 66% · District 71% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

Grade 572%

School 72% · District 79% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

Science

Grade 536%

School 36% · District 40% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

This schoolEDINA 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-income37%Higher-income66%29 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income27%Higher-income76%49 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income53%Higher-income80%27 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income44%Higher-income74%30 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income26%Higher-income88%62 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income27%Higher-income73%46 pp gap