Minnetonka West Middle, Excelsior MN

Original Research by School Decision on Minnetonka West Middle

Minnetonka West Middle serves students from sixth through eighth grade as one of two middle schools in the Minnetonka Public School District. It sits in Excelsior, a small, historic lakefront town on Lake Minnetonka with a compact downtown that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The school itself is a regular public school and draws from the broader Minnetonka area, not just Excelsior, which houses only an elementary school within city limits.

The student body is large for a middle school and predominantly white, with a smaller share of Asian, Hispanic, two-or-more-races, and Black students. A modest share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on special education identification and English learner status was not available in the source material, so a parent may want to ask the school about these supports directly.

Academically, the school shows strong performance on Minnesota’s state assessments. In reading, proficiency across all grades was solid, with the highest rate among sixth graders and still strong results in seventh and eighth grades. In math, proficiency was also solid across the board, with eighth graders posting the highest performance. Science assessment data is available only for eighth grade, and the proficiency rate there was lower than the reading and math results. Notably, Minnesota changed the science assessment and its cut scores for this testing year, which means the science proficiency figure may not be directly comparable to prior years. Overall, the school’s proficiency across all tested subjects and grades placed it among the top group when compared to other school districts in Carver County.

The district has been under some financial pressure. In 2021, voters approved an operating levy increase, the first in many years, to support class size, programming, and technology. For the 2024-2025 school year, the district implemented budget reductions through attrition and retirements, citing inflation and enrollment changes, though it stated that direct classroom instruction was protected.

Excelsior itself is a largely built-out community with strict building codes aimed at preserving its Victorian-era character. The housing market reflects demand for the area, with property values substantially above state and national medians. Rents are also high and have seen a sharp year-over-year increase, making the broader Minnetonka area a relatively expensive place to live. The town’s walkable downtown, lakefront amenities, and annual events are a draw, and the school is integrated into this civic fabric rather than isolated on a separate campus.

For a family considering this school, the academic picture is one of strong outcomes in reading and math, with science an area where proficiency was lower. The school operates within a well-regarded district that has navigated recent budget adjustments without layoffs. The community context is affluent, historic, and largely built out, with limited new development and high housing costs. A parent may want to look into the special education and English learner support offerings directly with the school, as state data for those areas was not reported here.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 676%

School 76% · District 78% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Grade 770%

School 70% · District 72% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

Grade 881%

School 81% · District 74% · ▲ 7 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 681%

School 81% · District 81%

▲ 35 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Grade 772%

School 72% · District 73% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

Grade 870%

School 70% · District 71% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 837%

School 37% · District 35% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 25 pts above state median

This schoolMINNETONKA 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 6Lower-income67%Higher-income82%16 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income58%Higher-income74%15 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income46%Higher-income72%26 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income44%Higher-income78%33 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income42%Higher-income73%32 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income54%Higher-income83%29 pp gap