Central Elementary, Norwood Young America MN

Original Research by School Decision on Central Elementary

Central Elementary serves students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in the combined city of Norwood Young America, about forty miles west of Minneapolis. It is a regular public school within the Central Public School District. The school enrolls roughly 400 students, a size that allows for a neighborhood-scale feel while offering the resources of a district that has recently invested heavily in its facilities through major capital construction.

Academically, Central Elementary posted strong results on state assessments in the most recent testing year. In reading, a solid majority of students met proficiency standards across grades three, four, and five. Math performance was notably high in the third and fourth grades, where most students demonstrated proficiency, while fifth-grade math results were lower. Fifth-grade science showed a smaller share of students reaching proficiency, a pattern that reflects a common challenge in elementary science assessment. Overall, when you combine performance across all tested subjects and grades, Central Elementary’s proficiency index placed it among the highest when compared with other school districts in Carver County. Because this is the only year of available academic data, it is not yet possible to see performance trends over time.

The student body is predominantly white, with smaller shares of Hispanic students, Black students, and students identifying as two or more races. Slightly more than a quarter of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a marker of economic diversity. Data on students with disabilities and English learners were not available in the public record, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the size and shape of those support programs.

The school sits in Norwood Young America, a small town formed several decades ago by the merger of two earlier communities. The town has a compact footprint with a historic downtown near the railroad junction. It is the commercial hub for surrounding townships and has seen steady population growth in recent years. Major employers include a large rebate and coupon processing firm that gives the town an unusually high number of ZIP codes. The city is home to Minnesota’s oldest continuous community festival, which draws residents together every August. Housing values in the area are roughly in line with national medians, and the broader economy has been stable.

The Central Public School District, which operates Central Elementary and other schools, has undertaken significant capital construction spending in recent years, indicating ongoing investment in the physical learning environment. No information about specific programs, such as gifted education, arts, or extracurricular offerings, was found in the available data, so families interested in those details should seek them directly from the school.

For a family looking for a midsize elementary school in a growing small town with strong academic results in the primary grades and district commitment to facility upgrades, Central Elementary warrants a close look. The dip in fifth-grade math and the lower science proficiency are points a prospective parent would want to discuss with the school to understand how the curriculum builds from year to year.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 379%

School 79% · District 79%

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

Grade 477%

School 77% · District 77%

▲ 26 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 552%

School 52% · District 52%

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 356%

School 56% · District 56%

▲ 14 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 468%

School 68% · District 68%

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

Grade 565%

School 65% · District 65%

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Science

Grade 530%

School 30% · District 30%

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

This schoolCENTRAL 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-income50%Higher-income60%10 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income56%Higher-income73%17 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income45%Higher-income74%29 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income63%Higher-income89%27 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income50%Higher-income88%38 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income25%Higher-income63%38 pp gap