Jefferson Elementary, Rochester MN

Original Research by School Decision on Jefferson Elementary

Jefferson Elementary is a regular public school in Rochester, Minnesota, serving students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. It sits on the northeast side of the city, within the Rochester Public School District, which has recently opened a new elementary school to address enrollment growth and launched online learning programs for families who want a virtual option. The school’s enrollment is typical for an elementary building in a mid-sized district, with classes distributed roughly evenly across kindergarten through fifth grade, plus a pre-kindergarten program.

The student body is majority white, with a notable share of students identifying as two or more races and smaller but present populations of Black, Asian, and Hispanic students. About a third of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a rate that places the school near the middle of Minnesota’s socioeconomic range for elementary schools. Data on students with individualized education programs and English learners was not available in the records used here, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the level of special education and English language support.

Academically, Jefferson’s state test results place it among the stronger performers in Olmsted County. In the most recent testing year, the school’s combined proficiency rate across math and reading landed in the top quartile when compared with all districts in the county. Looking within the building, reading proficiency in grades three through five runs above a solid majority mark, with third grade showing the highest share meeting state standards. Math proficiency is similarly strong in third and fourth grades, but fifth grade math drops to a level that falls short of the school’s own earlier grades. Fifth grade science testing, which was administered under a different assessment, shows roughly two in five students reaching proficiency. That dip in later elementary math, along with the science result, is worth a closer look for families who want to understand how the school prepares students for the transition to middle school.

Because Jefferson serves only elementary grades, there is no high school graduation rate to report. The school does not have publicly available data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, or course access, which are typical metrics for a school of this grade span. The building is not a charter or magnet school; it operates as a neighborhood elementary within the district’s attendance boundaries.

Rochester itself is defined by the Mayo Clinic, which anchors the local economy and draws millions of visitors each year. The city has been growing modestly, with a Destination Medical Center initiative spurring investment in downtown, a new bus rapid transit line under construction, and a rising housing market. Home values in the area have increased roughly in line with statewide trends, and rents have edged upward as well, reflecting the city’s role as a regional employment center driven largely by healthcare and related services. For families moving to Rochester for work at the clinic or other major employers, Jefferson Elementary sits in a neighborhood that mixes older homes with newer development, and the district has been proactively adding school capacity to keep pace with enrollment.

This is a school that delivers above-average academic results for its county, particularly in early elementary reading and math, with a noticeable slip in fifth grade that some families will want to explore. The student body is economically diverse but not high-poverty, and the school’s setting in a growing, healthcare-centered city gives it a stable enrollment base. A parent looking for a solid neighborhood elementary with strong early academics and a district that is responsive to growth pressures will find Jefferson worth considering.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 376%

School 76% · District 59% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 476%

School 76% · District 54% · ▲ 21 pts above district

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

Grade 554%

School 54% · District 40% · ▲ 13 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 371%

School 71% · District 48% · ▲ 24 pts above district

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

Grade 466%

School 66% · District 44% · ▲ 22 pts above district

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

Grade 569%

School 69% · District 52% · ▲ 18 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 542%

School 42% · District 27% · ▲ 15 pts above district

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

This schoolROCHESTER 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-income46%Higher-income85%38 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income35%Higher-income80%46 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income58%Higher-income73%15 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income50%Higher-income90%40 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income55%Higher-income85%30 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income38%Higher-income60%23 pp gap