Middleton Elementary, Woodbury MN

Original Research by School Decision on Middleton Elementary

Middleton Elementary is a regular public school serving kindergarten through fifth grade in Woodbury, a fast-growing suburban community east of Saint Paul. The school is part of South Washington County Schools, the district that covers Woodbury and neighboring towns. Like the city itself, Middleton sits in a place that has seen steady residential expansion and an increasingly professional workforce, anchored by major medical and technology employers in the area.

The student body is predominantly white, with a mix of Asian, Black, Hispanic, and multiracial families that together make up a sizeable share of the enrollment. About one in five students qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which is a relatively low rate and consistent with the area’s overall affluence. Housing in the school’s zip code is expensive compared to national averages, and rents are similarly high, putting the school in a part of the metro where homeownership and rental costs both run well above typical levels. A family considering Middleton should expect that the surrounding housing market is tight and pricey, a reflection of the area’s desirability and growth.

On state assessments, Middleton’s performance in math and reading sits above the midpoint among districts in Washington County when taken as a whole. In the most recent testing year, math proficiency for third graders was above the majority mark, while fourth graders posted a stronger result, and fifth graders came in around the halfway point. In reading, third and fourth graders both scored above half proficient, and fifth graders reached a level that was notably higher than the school’s own average. The science results, which are tested only in fifth grade, landed lower, with fewer than a third of students demonstrating proficiency. Because the state recently changed the science assessment and its cut scores, the district has flagged that comparison to prior years may not be clean, so a parent may want to ask the school how this year’s science performance relates to what they expect going forward. That overall proficiency index places the school above the county median, a solid standing relative to its neighbors.

Middleton has a single year of test data in the available record, so there is no trend line to show improvement or decline over time. The school’s enrollment is modestly sized for an elementary serving all six grades, with classes that are not crowded by typical suburban standards. Special education and English learner counts were not reported in the data provided, so a parent interested in those supports should request them directly from the school.

The community context matters here. Woodbury is not a traditional downtown city; it is a sprawling, car-dependent suburb with residential subdivisions and commercial corridors. What it lacks in walkable street life it compensates for with an extensive network of multi-use trails connecting parks and neighborhoods, and a civic heart built around an indoor central park, library, and YMCA complex. This is a place where daily life revolves around driving, but outdoor recreation and community facilities are plentiful. The district itself did not yield any recent strategic changes or bond measures in the available research, so a resident may want to check the district website for current planning initiatives.

For a family, Middleton offers an elementary experience in a well-off, growing suburb with academic performance that is comfortably above the midpoint of its county peers. The lower science proficiency is worth a conversation with the school, especially for a parent who values early exposure to that subject. Otherwise, this is a school whose profile matches its community: stable, solid, and suburban, with the strengths and limitations that go with that setting.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 362%

School 62% · District 64% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 7 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 469%

School 69% · District 63% · ▲ 6 pts above district

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

Grade 550%

School 50% · District 53% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 357%

School 57% · District 51% · ▲ 6 pts above district

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

Grade 456%

School 56% · District 51% · ▲ 5 pts above district

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

Grade 565%

School 65% · District 64%

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Science

Grade 530%

School 30% · District 29%

▲ 5 pts above state median · even with county median

This schoolSouth Washington County 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 3Lower-income18%Higher-income66%48 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income35%Higher-income60%25 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income29%Higher-income73%44 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income18%Higher-income73%55 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income45%Higher-income74%29 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income35%Higher-income53%18 pp gap